A Case of A Delicate Nature
by LVfangirl
Summary: When Amanda gets assigned to pose as an intern at a photo shoot, Lee decides she can't handle it on her own and tags along. A few surprises come his way when he sees a new side of Amanda that he didn't know existed. Can work CANON Late Season 2/Early Season 3. Rated T and some chapters may result as an M
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is owned by Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions

Just a story I've started

We'll see what you think. Thank you for reading and if possible, please review!

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Storming into Billy's office, Lee glowered at his boss. "Why would you send in Amanda?" Lee thundered. "Why can't you send in Francine?"

Billy set his pen down and looked up at Lee, who had now begun to pace back and forth in agitation. "You know that Francine left two days ago to help MI5 across the pond. She's not back yet and won't be for at least another few days."

"Yeah, I do remember that," Lee conceded, flinging himself down into a chair and unbuttoning his suit jacket. "It's just this assignment will be awkward for Amanda. Isn't there anyone else we can send in?"

"Now why would it be awkward for Amanda?" Billy asked. "We've been sending her on missions, with _you _no less, for quite some time now. She can handle herself just fine and besides, there is no one else to send."

Lee gave his boss a hard look. "But….does she have _all_ of the details of this assignment?"

"Well…" Billy hedged, smoothing out his vest and tie, "some things I left out. She knows she's going to a photo-shoot in Colorado…but she doesn't know the_ specifics_ about the client… she knows we need her to befriend the crew and photographer and that we suspect some shady dealings with one or all of them. You said Ms. Hayworth has room for an intern who will assist the photographer, and that's what I've told Amanda. The crew is used to having interns come in and do these stints all of the time. It'll be nothing new to them. And since no one knows Amanda like they might know you, we can get her in without being suspected and hopefully get some information."

Lee shook his head stubbornly. "I still don't like it, Billy. What if she needs us? That's a hell of a long way from home if she does. She can't just call in the cavalry if she finds herself in hot water. She's not ready to be alone. She can't even cock a gun, let alone shoot one."

Billy sighed. "Lee, you said yourself that Ms. Hayworth doesn't have any concrete evidence of what she suspects. I don't have a lot to go on here. I can't have a team in place until we have some kind of proof of what she's saying. Basically, she's called in a favor to you and even though I'm not sure that's enough, I trust you to not ask me to waste the Agency's time and money. Until Amanda can confirm something, we can only wait."

"Yes, but Billy, its _Amanda._" Lee blew out a breath and leaned forward in his chair, looking at his boss pleadingly. "I don't feel like this is something we should be sending her into without backup."

"Are you saying that because you're her _partner_," Billy stressed the word, "You'd like to go in? I wouldn't send a second into this normally, but I do see your point, that Amanda may be too new at this that she may need some assistance. If you can come up with a good cover story, I suppose you could be spared here for a few days. But," he cautioned, "If Amanda hasn't yielded anything concrete within 36 hours, you come home. And we leave Amanda there through the entire internship regardless. The question is, how do we get you there with a viable excuse of being there? You haven't been hot and heavy with Ms. Hayworth for years."

Lee stood up; relief flooding him now that Billy was seeing things his way. "Oh, I can think of something, I'm sure."

Billy smiled and steepled his fingers together. "When can you leave?"

"As soon as possible, but I'dl ike to let her know to expect me. Uh…Sir…"Lee ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends "…what is Amanda going to say when she realizes she's interning at a Rebekkah's Fantasies photoshoot?"

Billy shrugged and pushed himself back from his desk and gave his best agent a wide smile, blinking innocently. "Now, Lee, just because she's a housewife doesn't mean she's never…seen that kind of thing." He stood up and walked around his desk toward the door. Opening it, he turned back to Lee. "In fact, she's probably…more versed on that subject than any of the rest of us."

Lee gave him a look and, suddenly feeling warm, pulled at his collar as he stood up and and started toward the door as well. "Har, har."

Billy's smile flattened. "Give the woman some credit, Scarecrow; she'll be able to handle whatever comes her way just fine. She'll keep it professional and keep her personal objections out of it. Amanda has proven herself over and over. She won't disappoint us now. Have a little faith."

***BREAK***

Her bags were all packed and at the door, and Amanda was rounding up her last minute items and throwing them into her carry-on when Dotty leaned against the doorway that led to the kitchen, silently watching her.

Amanda felt her mother's scrutinizing stare on her back when Dotty finally spoke up. "Where was it again you said you were going, Dear? Now, I know you've already kind of explained, but I want to be able to get a hold of you in case anything happens while you're gone. I mean, you'll be gone a few days and I wouldn't want to have something happen to the boys and not have a way to get a hold of you."

"Mother," Amanda sighed, setting the carry-on down next to her suitcase, "I told you. It's a special scouting assignment in Colorado for IFF that will take a week or so depending on the footage we get, and I'm actually in charge this time. They've decided to let me call the shots and find," she searched for the words, "'the most alluring scenery in man's eyes'…I think that's how Mr. Melrose put it."

"Huh," Dotty huffed, folding her arms. "That's not very descriptive."

Amanda moved passed Dotty to get a glass of water from the sink, saying over her shoulder as she went, "You know that they never give me a lot of specifics until I'm onsite as it is, Mother, so that's really as descriptive as I can get. But I can tell you, Colorado is beautiful so this hopefully will go quickly. I promise, though, that I'll check in every evening with you. And once I get to my room tonight, I'll call you with more details. I just have to get there first. The plan is to go to the location first and head to the room this evening - so it may be late because of the time change, but I'll call, I promise."

Dotty pushed away from the door jamb. "Oh, Amanda, that reminds me! Did you get enough change for those calls? I better go grab some for you out of the coin jar upstairs! You don't want to get all that way and realize you don't have enough change!"Amanda listened to the sound of her mother's fading footsteps as she turned the faucet on and filled a glass, smiling to herself.

As she raised the glass to her lips and looked out of the window, Lee popped up unexpectedly from the bushes outside and startled her.

"Hi!" He said through the open window with his easy smile.

Quickly, Amanda set the glass down, looked behind her before stepping outside. As she closed the door and turned to him, she whispered, "What are you doing here?Mr. Melrose already gave me my assignment and didn't say anything about you stopping by."

Lee ignored her question, not bothering to whisper. "Are you all packed? I thought I could take you to the airport to catch your flight. My flight leaves about an hour or so after yours, so I'll have just enough time to run back to my apartment to pack. Then I'll be right behind you."

Amanda blinked. "Behind me? I thought this was a solo thing."

"Well, it is…" Lee wrinkled his nose and cocked his head as if thinking. "Well...sort of…"

Amanda folder her arms. "Sort of?"

"Well," Lee swallowed and fidgeted with the bush he was still standing in, "Billy explained it to you, didn't he? You'll be going in as an intern, you know, kind of job-shadowing the photographer that's on-site; running errands, that sort of thing."When she said nothing, Lee continued, "And I'll be in town, you'll see me around, you know," he motioned with his hands awkwardly. "If you need me."

Amanda considered this, trying not to laugh as Lee stepped clumsily out of the bushes onto the patio. Once he'd straightened and looked back at her, she asked, "So…I'll still be on the photoshoot on my own, and relaying the information to you? Won't that be kind of…boring for you?"

"Boring? Nah." He smiled, his dimples showing. "A little down time never killed anyone."

Though Amanda doubted the truth to Lee's words, his smile disarmed her and she felt herself melt a little. Curse it if Lee didn't know how to charm his way into whatever he wanted, she thought. Albeit grudgingly, she told him, "I'll go get my bags."

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Thank you again for your time. Reviews are welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is owned by Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions

Author's Note:Thank you to all of your lovely reviews. Being new to the SMK world (I re-discovered it just a few months ago), it has been evident that you all are a very close-knit online community, and it is awesome to be welcomed so warmly. I hope you continue to enjoy this story, and if you do or don't, I still LOVE to hear your thoughts through reviews.

BTW – this is looking to be at least a 20-chapter story. I have a habit of not wrapping things up in a quick bow; I also am very aware that my 'mystery' part of stories doesn't come as naturally as I would like. Please forgive me and also, as I know with many SMK episodes—I may have to ask you to suspend your disbelief as I try to make this fun, sexy, and romantic along with a relative amount suspense they may not be all that suspenseful.

FYI - a couple of you asked - this takes place end of season 2/start of season 3. Far enough into the series that Amanda could have been sent out on her own.

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Chapter 2

At the airport, Lee pulled Amanda's luggage from the back of his Corvette and set it on the curb.

"Well," he said, watching her sling her carry-on onto her shoulder, "I guess I'll be seeing you in a few hours."

She frowned at him. "You know, Billy said this would be strictly a reconnaissance mission. Are you sure you want to waste your time?"

"Trust me, Amanda," Lee said, "You'll be glad I'm there. Like I said before, I'll be in town if you need me and I'll even try to find a way to be on the location with you, if it's possible."

She reached down and grabbed her suitcase. "Okay, well, if you're sure. I'm just surprised you don't have bigger fish to fry, honestly. But I suppose if Billy wants it this way, that's the way it needs to be."

Lee gave her a large smile. "Yes, exactly. Billy really does want it this way."

***BREAK***

From the airport, Lee made his way to his apartment to quickly pack before his plane left an hour and a half later.

He now threw an extra pair of socks into his bag and muttered to himself, "When I said _send an agent in_, I didn't mean send Amanda!"

Because he had been so surprised to hear Alicia's voice when she'd called, Lee hadn't questioned her request. She'd sounded off on the phone, and he'd jumped into Scarecrow mode, calling Billy and arranging a call between the three of them to discuss what was troubling her. After hearing what Alicia had to say, Billy had immediately greenlit an agent going in to validate her concerns.

The original plan would have worked _perfectly_, Lee thought, as he pulled out his gray suit jacket from the closet. Alicia had told him upfront that half of her crew would know him from their time together before. So, he'd easily abandoned any thought of going in himself. That was, until Billy had made the executive decision to send Amanda in _alone_. Amanda was too new, not used to working on her own, and just plain too much of a liability to send in alone.

_Not a liability, Lee. _His conscious pricked at him as he zipped up his garment bag. He just couldn't stand to have her _hours_ away from him, where he couldn't protect her if something bad happened. And though Billy wanted more evidence, what Alicia had told him over the phone was enough for Lee to know that the concerns were founded. Quite possibly a kidnapping had taken place and that meant that things could get dangerous. _Dangerous for Amanda._

He didn't like it. When he'd brought Billy into the equation, Lee had fully expected his boss to send in a fully-trained agent to go in as the intern. The whole plan would have worked seamlessly and Lee would have been able to step away and not get involved.

But now he_ was_ involved. He had no real desire to see Alicia Hayworth ever again, really. But he couldn't refuse a good case because he didn't want to deal with Alicia; especially now. He had to go, because it the only way to ensure that Amanda would stay safe.

Once the decision had been made, Lee had called Alicia. He'd explained briefly that Amanda would be arriving as the expected intern, that Lee would now be 'running' into Alicia at some point in the next half day, and that Alicia would need to invite him to the location. He hadn't given her any more information. The rest was up to her.

The good thing, Lee reassured himself, was that Alicia would point Amanda in the right direction. And being on the inside, Amanda would likely gather way more intelligence than Lee could have ever gotten on his own. Half the crew already knew him from before. Hell, even some of her models would probably remember him.

Just thinking about the models caused Lee to run a hand through his hair in agitation. Would Amanda be able to keep her focus on the case while on a photoshoot for racy lingerie? She could be so weird sometimes about promiscuity and how things would look to other people. Billy may think Amanda would be able to set aside her personal objections, but Lee feared otherwise. He could just imagine her horror at finding out what the subject matter was when she arrived and saw women posed in silk and lace.

Hell, even he was getting hot under the collar just thinking about it, and he wasn't even there yet.

He just hoped Amanda could stay professional.

*****BREAK****

It was late afternoon by the time the chauffeur opened the limo's back door and Amanda stepped out to gaze up at a large mansion in Colorado. Though the drive from the airport had been long, it had been spectacularly scenic. She'd begun to really look forward to what was to come and to use her previous knowledge of photography to really sell her cover as a photography intern. Anxiously, she surveyed her surroundings: stables in the back, various out buildings, and many vehicles parked haphazardly in the large pull-through driveway.

The chauffeur smiled at her as he shut the door. "Your bags will be waiting for you at the Lock and Loaded Bed and Breakfast, Mrs. Keene. If you require anything else, the crew's van will be available for your disposal during your stay."

"Thank you, Mr. Banks," she murmured.

He gave her a small bow. "Have a nice day, Ma'am."

As the limo pulled away, Amanda looked back to the front door, giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts before moving forward.

"This is going to be a lot of fun!" Amanda said under her breath as bounded up the front steps. She rapped firmly on the door, and then, feeling foolish, rang the bell that she finally noticed behind a large potted plant. "That fern is larger than the tree in my backyard."

After a few moments the large door opened, revealing a stern-faced butler.

Clearing her throat, Amanda said cheerfully, "Hello, I'm Amanda Keene…and I'm looking for Ms. Alicia Hayworth, I believe she's expecting me? I'm interning this week?"

"Yes, yes, come in. Ms. Hayworth is expecting you." The butler opened the door wider and motioned her inside.

Eagerly, Amanda stepped in and looked around. Instantly, she felt confusion and embarrassment envelop her and she quickly looked down. Beautiful women, many of them, were wandering around dressed in scantily-clad nightgowns of various color. Feeling the color rising in her cheeks, Amanda gulped and tried to school her features into a neutral expression.

The butler didn't seem to notice how uncomfortable Amanda obviously had just become. "Please wait here while I announce you."

The butler disappeared down a long hallway. A tall woman with big, blond bouncy curls dressed in what Amanda could only describe as a sexy-maid uniform, complete with a feather duster and high-heels, stopped in front of Amanda.

"Hi," the woman said with a seductive smile, "I'm Michelle. You must be the new intern Alicia mentioned!"

Amanda blinked. "Uh, yes I am." A little unsure, Amanda looked Michelle up and down before holding out her hand, "Amanda Keene."

Michelle took it. "The next few days—"

But Amanda didn't get to hear what the next few days would be.

"Ms. Keene!"

Distracted, Amanda pulled her hand back, giving Michelle an apologetic smile and turned her attention to a stunning brunette, dressed (thank goodness, Amanda thought) smartly in a blue pantsuit, walking toward them from what looked to be the library.

"Michelle, you're needed in the study, Marcus is ready for you," the woman said, dismissing the model.

Michelle nodded to Amanda and excused herself.

The brunette turned her attention back to Amanda. She extended her hand with a warm smile. "I'm Alicia Hayworth. I am so glad to meet you. I would like to welcome you to your first Rebekkah's Fantasies photoshoot."

Amanda blinked and faintly repeated, "Rebekkah's Fantasies?"

Realizing how she must look, Amanda plastered a huge smile on her face, attempting to recover. "Oh, yes of course! I have been really looking forward to this experience." Her smile faltered and she leaned in and said a little more quietly, "Uh, to be perfectly honest, Ms. Hayworth, I wasn't really told the specifics of this photoshoot or what exactly my internship this week would entail."

"Please, call me Alicia." Alicia Hayworth replied. "I spoke with your coordinator, and he told me that you have a lot of experience with photography, which is exactly what we look for when we offer these internships. He said that you've expressed interest in getting into our field. You don't need to know a lot, a photoshoot is a photoshoot," she gestured behind her. "This is for our spring catalog, as you can see with the colors the ladies are wearing."

A tall, leggy blonde crossed in front of them, wearing a sheer, pale-blue baby-doll chemise. Amanda followed her with her eyes before gulping and turning her attention back to what Alicia was saying. "You'll mostly be following Marcus around, he's our lead photographer. You'll be assisting him with whatever he needs. We've already been at this shoot for a good three days, and we have four or so days left. I am so excited to have you here to see if this would be a good fit for you."

Amanda rubbed her hands together and bounced on the balls of her feet, nervous. "Well, no time like the present. Just point me in the right direction."

****BREAK***

Alicia took Amanda around the mansion, in and out of where all the photoshoots were currently at, introducing her to everyone as they went. Amanda took note of a few of the models: Michelle (in her maid's costume) Melanie (black teddy, stockings, and matching silk robe), Jaqueline (bright pink negligee and matching stilettos), and Miranda (leather bustier with black lace up boots), and the only male model, Enrico (dressed, ironically, in jeans and a plain white t-shirt). She met the lead photographer, Marcus Tyler, and the secondary photographer, Peter McHugh, and countless crew members to which Amanda hoped she'd soon get to know.

Throughout the entire tour, Amanda had to gulp back her shock every time they entered a new area. Lingerie was strewn everywhere. The models were comfortable wandering about with barely any clothes on. Amanda was _almost_ envious of their lack of self-consciousness. Of course, she reasoned, there wasn't an ounce of fat on any of them and none of them knew the meaning of a stretchmark.

As they continued through the house, Alicia explained that the next day Amanda would begin assisting Marcus and Peter with staging and props. "If needed, you may be asked to run into town and buy a few things for…placement. Because this is _art_, we're not only selling our product, we're selling the _fantasy. _For instance, if we did a football spread, we might need footballs, cleats, pom-poms…. that sort of thing. We try to bring an array of items, but there are times when inspiration hits and we need additional items. Tomorrow we're doing three different shoots - the office fantasy, the kitchen fantasy, and the stables fantasy. So, your job will be to think of ways to make every woman's fantasy come true in those settings." Alicia was walking ahead and didn't notice Amanda's face drain of color. "And then as Marcus and Peter begin with the shoot, you can assist with what you think will sell the fantasy. And hopefully along with selling the fantasy we sell a few negligees along the way."

Amanda swallowed hard. _How did I get into this?_ "Uh, I'll try my best, Alicia."

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Reviews are welcome and encouraged! (It keeps me going, for reals people!) Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thank you for the kind reviews, I do hope you continue to enjoy.

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Chapter 3

Evening came fast and before Amanda knew it (not that she was complaining), everyone was wrapping up, with the crew heading into town for dinner. Alicia explained that the models stayed on-site at the mansion while the crew stayed in town overnight to give everyone a sense of privacy while they were on location. Alicia, for what it was worth, alternated between having dinner with the crew and the models, but would return to the mansion for the night. Tonight, it was her turn to go into town with the crew.

The ride into town was cramped in the large van, Amanda in the back with a crew member on either side of her. She tried but failed miserably at striking a conversation with them.

_Chatty group, _Amanda thought, giving up and choosing to instead stare straight ahead, reflecting on the day and steadily becoming more irritated by the moment.

It was official. Amanda was going to kill Lee. There was no way she was enduring this hell without some sort of retribution. After Lee, she decided, Billy would be next. But first she had to get through this assignment without having an utter meltdown and humiliating herself along the way.

She was irritated with Billy for not explaining more thoroughly what this job entailed. She was irritated with Lee for choosing to evade the topic when he took her to the airport that morning. And she was irritated with herself for once again assuming that she didn't need to ask for more details.

By the time she walked into the diner, Amanda was all but fuming. Even as mad as she was, the first thing her eyes gravitated toward was to the gorgeous man dressed in a perfectly pressed suit sitting in the back-corner booth. Her heart jumped to her throat. Lee.

Taking a deep breath, Amanda followed the crew to a table in the middle of the room. She judiciously kept her head down, sliding her eyes over to the back corner. Lee was taking a drink of his coffee and as he did so, he looked up and caught her eye. Amanda could have sworn he gave her a wink before looking back down at his newspaper. Not reacting to him, she chose a seat at the closest end of the table to him, across from Marcus and next to Peter, who jumped up and pulled out the chair for her with a wide smile.

Everyone from the van was seated by the time Alicia came sauntering in. She moved in like a wave, almost as beautiful as the models back at the mansion. She moved toward their table and did a double-take toward the back corner.

"I wouldn't believe it if I weren't seeing it with my own eyes," Alicia cried out, tapping a crew member's shoulder and pointing over at Lee, "Ryan, look who it is, Lee Stimpson, of all people!"

The crew member looked up from his menu and waved a hello to Lee as Alicia moved to the back booth and said loudly, "As I live and breathe, look who the cat dragged in!"

Even though Amanda was expecting it, and knew Lee had arranged this 'meet', she felt that Alicia's act was a little over-the-top and she had to fight her eye-roll. _That lady really needs a lesson in not being so obvious._

Lee gave a loud, appreciative laugh as he slid out of the booth and enveloped Alicia in a big bear hug. Alicia, in turn, reached up and pulled him into a long, lavish kiss.

Shocked at the woman's blatant behavior, Amanda averted her eyes but strained to hear everything she could, not liking the way her heartbeat had sped up nor how her breathing was now coming in short, almost angry, bursts.

It bothered her that it bothered her that Lee and Alicia seemed so cozy. A lot too cozy for her liking.

"Lee Stimpson, I don't think I have seen you in nearly four years!" Alicia preened, loudly enough for the entire diner to hear. "In fact, I think the last time I saw you; you were challenging Stuart Consuelo to a duel over my honor. I can tell you; my honor doesn't need protecting these days."

Amanda couldn't help herself; she looked over just in time to watch Alicia plant yet another kiss on Lee's mouth. She felt her heart sink when Lee leaned into the kiss and she studiously turned her attention back to the menu in her hands.

Lee pulled away from Alicia's embrace and smiled a little uncomfortably with a slight chuckle for effect. "Stuart deserved that nick I gave his shoulder. What are you doing here?"

Alicia playfully punched his arm, "I could ask the same of you, stranger." When he quirked his eyebrows at her, she said, "I'm on a photoshoot, of course. What else would bring me here, of all places?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Lee straightened his jacket which she had managed to rumple, and motioned for Alicia to take a seat next to him in the booth. As they settled into it, he said, "I should have guessed a photoshoot."

"Well, it is that," she said with a laugh. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk with the dude ranch just out of town. My company is looking into doing a documentary on the ways of the west. They've invited me to come back tomorrow to try my luck at a little horseback riding. I've always enjoyed it."

"A documentary, huh?" Alicia laughed, snaking an arm through his. "You always knew how to throw in a good time with work, if I remember correctly. But, really, Lee, horseback riding? That just doesn't sound like anything a virile, strong, _healthy_ man would really enjoy! You should postpone your little ride a couple of days and come watch my girls at work. Mix some business with pleasure."

Amanda rolled her eyes and huffed. _Oh, pah-lease! If Lee falls for that line… _Marcus looked across at her, and she coughed inelegantly.

"Oh? What kind of work?" She heard Lee ask.

"Oh, a little of this, a little of that," Alicia all but sighed, "It's every man's _fantasy_."

Amanda shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"You know, I've opened my own company since the last time I saw you and it has really hit the big-time." Alicia motioned towards the table where Amanda sat with everyone else. "I run my own crew now instead of being on one. I've been lucky that I've kept my team together. You probably remember some of them, Ryan for one. My models are back at the mansion, having the run of place."

Lee looked over and a couple of the crew members waved in acknowledgement. A couple of them even called out his name. Next to Amanda, Peter called out as well.

As the two in the booth continued their conversation, the waitress delivered water to the crew's table.

Marcus leaned over to Amanda and said, "Alicia is making her rounds through the town, as usual."

"I don't think that guy is from _this _town," Amanda responded in a low voice, "Do you know him?"

"That guy?" Marcus glanced to the back booth. "No. But she said something about four years ago? That's well before my time. Obviously though, you do, huh, Peter?"

Amanda looked over at Peter, who nodded. "Oh, yeah, I remember those two were hot and heavy back when Alicia was nothing more than a crew hand like me."

"Looks like they'll pick up right where they left off," Marcus muttered, opening his menu. "She is the queen of Rebekkah's '_fantasies' _if that tells you anything. Just look at her, it looks like she'd like to swallow him whole."

Squirming at the innuendo, Amanda opened her own menu and was ever so grateful when the waitress finally came to take their order.

Once the waitress had left, Marcus complained, "You know, the models are back at the mansion having gourmet meals while we _slaves_ are having greasy leftovers from a forty-year-old fryer. We're the ones who make them look beautiful and hide their flaws, in turn sell the product for Alicia and all we get in return is just by getting treated like nothing more than slave-labor."

Amanda shrugged, fingering her menu. "Well, isn't that the way it usually works? Behind the scenes, there's always someone who doesn't get the credit. Only the main player ever does. The secretary or the housewife is always is out of the lime-light for their counterpart who gets the glory, right?"

Marcus huffed. "Well, I'm no housewife!"

Peter laughed beside her. "Marcus, she has a point."

Changing the subject, Amanda asked, "How long have you two worked for Rebekkah's Fantasies?"

"This will be my third shoot," Marcus informed her, "And Peter here has been with Alicia for the long haul, what is it now, five years, Peter?"

"Yeah, five years. Been working my way up – started as nothing more than a runner." He beamed proudly, his blue eyes twinkling. "I've just started this year as back-up photographer for Marcus."

Amanda returned his smile. "That's great, Peter." She looked back at Marcus. "What do you between shoots? Certainly, shooting pictures for Rebekkah's Fantasies isn't fulltime work?"

"Oh, this and that," Marcus supplied. "You're right, these shoots don't equal a full year's worth of work. But honestly, these shoots pay really well when they come, and the perks are pretty good even if I have to settle for fried swill while on the job." He gave a disdainful look around the dim café.

She motioned toward the back booth. "It can't be all that bad if Alicia Hayworth eats here with you, Marcus."

"She's not sitting with us, is she?" He rolled his eyes. "She only comes down here to flaunt herself to the town residents to make herself look good. It has nothing to do with the crew, Amanda. Trust me." He leaned in closer. "If she can schmooze and make a name for herself, she'd sell her soul to do it."

"What does that mean?"

"Well," Marcus leaned in conspiratorially, lowering his voice, "I heard that she is trying to break into the adult-film industry. She wants to bring our models into it with her."

"Marcus," Peter said warningly, pointedly looking down the table at the rest of the crew, who didn't seem to be paying attention to them.

Amanda looked between the two men. "Why would she do that, when her business is going so strongly?"

Marcus shrugged. "Don't ask me. She's the one who keeps trying to top herself. Just don't be surprised when you start seeing _our_ models in the next _Deep Throat._"

Amanda bit her lip and eyed the back booth once again. Alicia was slid so close to Lee now that he looked smashed against the wall. "She'd really do that?"

"There's big money in the industry, sweetheart," Marcus leaned back in his chair and said matter-of-factly, "She's always looking to make a dime. Don't forget it."

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Author's Note: I've enjoyed reading your comments, it helps me to know if this is worth pursuing. Thank you to everyone of you that has like, favorited, and followed. It means the world to me. Please review if you can! THANK YOU AGAIN!


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Note: Fore reals, peeps, thank you for your encouragement. Your reviews, favorites, and follows mean the world. Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4

Dinner was delivered a short while later; the entire wait had Amanda wondering just how she would get a moment alone to talk with Lee. She wondered, too, if he were even interested in talking with her. He was so engrossed with catching up with Alicia in the shadows of the back booth he hadn't given the slightest indication of breaking away from her. The waitress had even brought Alicia's order to his table and she ate with him instead of her crew.

So far Amanda wasn't all that impressed with Alicia Hayworth. It perturbed her that Lee didn't seem to mind Alicia's fawning over him. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it.

_Typical playboy Lee, letting himself get distracted by a pretty face, _Amanda fumed, hearing his deep laugh. She looked over just in time to see him lean his head low against Alicia's lips to better hear her.

Finally, Amanda had had enough. Abruptly, she stood up and made a great show of reaching for her purse and murmuring something along the lines of 'needing to call home'. She gave a cursory look over to Lee, whom gave her a furtive glance before turning his attention back to Alicia and her roaming hands.

Trying to appear unfazed, Amanda passed by the booth on her way to the back hall, glad that it led out of sight and further down to a bank of payphones. She'd given Lee as much of a hint as she could and now it was up to him to find his opportunity to break away and come to her.

She dug change out of her purse once she reached a phone, picked the receiver up and slid the coins into the slot. Instead of dialing her mother, however, she dialed Billy.

"Hello Sir, just making my nightly check-in call," she said as soon as he said hello, determining to keep her tone as professional as possible. "Tomorrow will be the best opportunity to get more acquainted with the staff and see if anything seems out of the ordinary. Tonight, I'm getting to know some of the crew, as requested."

"Good, that's really good, Amanda," came Billy's voice reassuringly. "Lee should be there soon."

"Uh, yes sir, he's..uh…I've seen that, yes sir," Amanda awkwardly fingered the phone cord, "He's…uh…he's working on getting an invite to the location as we speak. I should be making contact with him soon." They ended their call and as she turned, Lee was approaching and so she waited for him, keeping the receiver in her hand.

He stopped at the payphone next to hers and picked up that receiver, not looking at her but instead turning into the booth as if to make a call. Softly, but loudly enough for her to hear, he enquired, "How was your flight?"

She glared at his back and put her receiver back to her ear and said with false cheer, "Oh, it was great. The peanuts were fresh, the Coke wasn't flat. Great flight, great drive. Nothing to complain about here!" She paused a moment before hissing, "When were you gonna tell me that I was on a photoshoot at the Playboy Bunny mansion? I walked through that door and there were women strutting around barely dressed in anything everywhere I turned, Lee! Why wouldn't you at least _warn_ me about what I was walking into?"

"Yeah, uh," Lee answered slowly, still not turning to look at her. "Look, didn't Billy tell you that it was a photo shoot of men's most favorite views?"

She gave the back of his head an icy stare. "Billy didn't tell me anything of the sort." She took a deep, calming breath. "All right, it might not be Hustler, but I was still hideously under-prepared for this! It isn't super comfortable watching half-naked women prance all around in see-through robes, Lee. Maybe it is for you, but not for me! It would have been nice to know what I was walking into before I got here. You know, I thought," she felt herself getting worked up, "I thought maybe the shoot was for a nice _flower _catalog or, you know, for a _toy _catalog or you know, maybe a house or real estate magazine or _something_…not the playmate-of the-year catalog!"

"Well, I suppose it _is _a case of a delicate nature," Lee said carefully, finally turning to give her the look she knew so well and detested. "Look, are you telling me you can't handle it? Do you want to leave?"

She snorted and clung to the phone. "Lee. Of course, I can handle it. It just would have been nice to be warned."

"Well, that's good," Lee said with a nod, looking around distractedly. "Alicia invited me to come and observe her operation tomorrow. I'll be there as much as possible over the next few days." He finally looked back at her and gave her his Scarecrow smile. "You know, for support."

Amanda's mouth fell open and it took a moment for her to recover. "Why do you even need me here, then? Why have me come at all? I mean, if you were just going to weasel your way into watching a bunch of women flounce around in nothing, why do I have to be here to witness your lechery? I guess I can sit in the corner and think of even more slow and painful ways to torture you."

"Oh, Amanda." He shook his head and gave her another condescending smile. "Look. Alicia contacted us because she's certain there is something major going on with either her crew or her models or both." He explained to her patiently, "Now, she's very particular with whom she lets in as an intern, and some of these people knew me from before and I couldn't just show up as the intern or someone interested in the process—at least that was my original thought," he amended, "when she first contacted me. Amanda, you have the perfect background in photography so you can talk shop talk with the crew about shutter speeds and whatnot," he motioned with his hands for effect, "and hopefully get an edge on what's going on behind the scenes. Look," he tried again, when her expression stayed stony, "I wasn't even supposed to come here. But then, Billy sent you so-"

She felt her irritation bubble up again and she pulled herself up straight. "Oh, so once again, you're telling me that I'm not competent, really? This again?"

His features softened, his hazel eyes taking on a sudden pleading look and almost turning blue. Delicately, he replied, "No, it has nothing to do with competency, Amanda, it has to do with common sense. Billy wasn't able to fully prep you before he sentyou and he was just worried that if you needed backup-"

"And whose fault is that?" Amanda interrupted. "You know, I get really tired of never knowing what the mission is. Neither of you ever tell me enough of anything. Just 'see' if I can get chummy with the crew and 'see' if they let me into their group. Which I've already begun to do, thank you very much. But of course, you chose not to tell me that I'd be watching Rebekkah's fantasy come to life in full living color."

Lee gave her a dimpled smile and cocked his head to the side. "Well, would you have said no?"

She blinked. "Well, that's hardly the point." Taking another deep, calming breath, she looked up to the ceiling for a moment before giving him a hard look. "Don't worry, I'll put on my big-girl panties while everyone else is throwing them off and I'll get the job done. But I'll be mad the whole time, Lee. You may not see it and they may not know it, but I will be, Scarecrow." She moved on, "So tell me about tomorrow. You'll be there now, watching all the steamy photo shoots with Alicia, and I guess I'll just be behind the scenes, watching it all transpire?"

"Ye..ahh.." Lee looked away from her, obviously uncomfortable. "You're working with the crew, right? You probably won't even see much of me as it is. We'll have to meet up in the evenings or something, off-site."

Amanda placed the receiver back on its cradle and turned back to face him. "I've already been appointed to be at all three main shoots tomorrow and Alicia will be there. Which means you'll be there, too." Remembering what Marcus had just told her about Alicia and the adult-film industry, she added, "And that reminds me, about Alicia-"

It was his turn to interrupt her. "Yeah, about Alicia. She and I go way back. We used to – "

"Date?" Amanda supplied, folding her arms and giving him an amused smirk. "Or play backgammon?"

Speechless, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

She gave him an exasperated smile and rolled her eyes. "I know all about backgammon."

Lee pulled at his collar and studied the floor. "Yeah, uh, backgammon."

Amanda nodded her head, feeling her heart sink. This…_disappointment…_was becoming a very familiar feeling. For some reason, she'd almost hoped he would have denied it. Biting her lip, she gestured back toward the diner. "Look, I've got to get back in there before Marcus and Peter start wondering where I've gone to. The crew and I are staying at the Lock and Loaded Bed and Breakfast, where are you staying in this one-horse town?"

Lee, obviously glad for the change of subject, said, "Well, they just happened to have had one extra room. Maybe you should sneak to my room and talk to me later tonight? Room 3D?"

Before he'd even finished, Amanda was already shaking her head. "Not tonight, Buster. There isn't much to tell, I just got here three hours ago anyway. I've been with the photographers the most so far. Marcus is obviously pretty disgruntled. He's implying some pretty racy things about Alicia, but I want to see what else he'll tell me. Peter seems friendly and has been working with Alicia for a long time. He recognized you, do you remember him?"

Lee thought back and shook his head. "Maybe…vaguely."

"Vaguely?"

He put his hands up as if in surrender. "Look, it was a long time ago. I got to know a couple of the hands back then but I don't recognize that name."

"Well, the point is, Alicia specifically has paired me up with those two, so I've only really talked with them so far. She must be most suspicious of them. Billy told me that she would point me in the right direction when I got here, so I'm working that angle. The rest of the crew hasn't said much to me at all; I still have a fair amount of work to do before I can give a report." All business, she hoisted her purse further up onto her shoulder. "You enjoy yourself tomorrow, I'm sure you'll find it _hard_," she said the last in a clipped tone, looking him up and down. "All that skin and hormones raging through that house right now, forget Rebekkah. It's every man's wet dream. Tomorrow, apparently, we're shooting," she ticked them off one by one, "the office fantasy, the kitchen fantasy, and the stables fantasy…I get to help with the props and positioning, such as how close the model should let the bullwhip get between her breasts. You may have some pointers you can share yourself if my suggestions seem a bit too tame." With that, Amanda left Lee open-mouthed, gaping after her when she sashayed back into the main part of the diner.

****BREAK****

Finally, dinner was over and the crew was walking into the bed and breakfast. Amanda picked up her key from the host, who had already sent her bags up ahead of her when the chauffeur had dropped them off earlier, and headed straight to her room. As she was making her way up the stairs, she watched Lee come through the front door with Alicia on his arm. Wanting to avoid them, Amanda quickened her pace and didn't look back, taking the steps two at a time up to the second floor.

She let herself into her room, shut the door, leaned against the hard wood and closed her eyes.

Despite the fact that this case wasn't at all what she'd expected, Amanda was still oddly flattered that Billy had allowed her to be here. She reminded herself how it was proof of his faith in her abilities. For that, at least, she was grateful. There was no way she would mess this up because of how ill-prepared she now felt at being in the middle of a lingerie-shoot. Not if it would help advance her career at the agency. That was priority and something she was not willing to sacrifice over the mortification she was sure to endure over the next few days. There had been plenty times in the past when she'd felt out of her league and this might even top all of those experiences. But she would not let anyone see her struggle.

Sighing, she pushed away from the door and opened her suitcase that sat on the end of the bed. Changing into jeans and a sweatshirt, her thoughts strayed to Lee. Damned if the man wouldn't apologize for not giving her any forewarning of the subject matter of this photo shoot. He obviously had thought her too much of a prude to be able to handle it, she decided, and that's why he hadn't told her before she'd left D.C.. He'd thought she would have said no. That, too, was probably the reason he came to Colorado. Not because she might need backup. But because he'd assumed that she would insist on leaving the moment she arrived and he would have to step in to replace her.

Well, he was wrong on that assumption! _She just might have a few surprises in store for the mighty Scarecrow! _Resolutely, she determined nothing would faze with this mission. She would go with the flow, and let her inhibitions go out the window. Even if she felt humiliated to her core, no one would see her crack. Especially not Lee Stetson.

She could do it, she reasoned within herself. She'd been part of plays in the past where every line was planned, every movement staged. Working for the agency was often just like that, this case no exception. It would be an act in which every word she uttered would be very, very calculated. Once she got through with it, however, she was going to have some strong things to say to Mr. Melrose and Lee. The gloves were off from here on out. No more Mrs. Nice Gal.

Who knew? It just might be fun.

* * *

Reviews are very much welcome. I read every single one and try to get back to each of you. Thanks again - it encourages me and I do hope you are enjoying this ride I am taking Lee and Amanda on!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Amanda went back downstairs to the common area once she had freshened up. Most of the crew were now sitting around the fireplace, drinking beer and talking amongst themselves.

Peter, one of the photographers she'd eaten dinner with, sat on a couch playing cards around a coffee table with a number of the others. He looked up and caught her eye, giving her a friendly smile. She studied him for a moment. He was tall, at least six feet, with sandy-brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He had a nice face, one that invited trust and was unimposing.

She was just about to join him when she spotted Marcus, the main photographer. He was sitting at a table by himself working on a newspaper crossword. He'd been the more vocal complainer at dinner, and would likely be the who she should work on the most. She changed her mind about sitting with Peter and instead moved to the table where Marcus sat at alone.

"You know, Marcus," she said, sliding into a chair across from him, "I wouldn't mind picking your brain a little about what it is you do. You know, how you find projects and how you network." She leaned closer toward him. "Is there anything I can do to get in the good graces of you and the crew…I'd be willing to help with anything if it would increase my chances for a place with the team and learn from the best."

Marcus looked up from his crossword and studied her for several minutes. Unlike Peter, Marcus was smaller built with wispy black hair combed unattractively in an attempt to hide his balding head. His teeth were crooked and yellowed from years of smoking. Finally, he set his pencil down and replied, "Okay, well, I'll think of something, I'm sure."

Mentally, Amanda breathed a sigh of relief. She had just begun to worry that he had taken her words the wrong way. "Well, thanks, Marcus."

"You know…" he said after a moment, as if in deep thought, his fingers strumming along his chin. "I may have something I could have you do. Do you think you could meet me here in the morning about an hour before we leave for the mansion? Say around four-thirty?"

Amanda blinked. "Four-thirty?"

****BREAK***

Alicia's limo followed him to the bed and breakfast.

Lee prayed for patience when he let her into his room, reminding himself that the two of them were playing a part for her crew. The crew had to believe that they were picking things up where they'd left off so many years ago. The reality, however, was that Lee wanted nothing more than to shake her off of him. He knew that it wasn't all just an act on her part and that was annoying to him. This time around it was purely business, and it was important that he let her know that before things got out of hand.

Once both inside, Lee shut the door firmly, took a deep breath and slowly turned around to face her.

Alicia had already shrugged off her jacket and had draped it over the back of the love seat. She turned back to him. "It's been too long, Lee, since we were alone like this." She came up and hooked her arms around his neck, bringing her face closer to his. "I wouldn't have thought this possible a few days ago."

Lee snaked his hands up her arms and peeled her off of him. "Well, uh…yeah. It has been a really long time, Alicia. I was pretty surprised to hear from you, considering. Maybe…" he cleared his throat, stepping back away from her, "maybe we should get back to the business at hand."

"Oh…well." Clearly surprised by Lee's lack of response to her advances, Alicia stepped away and pulled at the hem of her blouse. "I'm sorry if I'm coming on a little strong, Lee. It never was a problem in the past."

"Well, that was a long time ago, just like you said, Alicia." He smiled and moved around the room. "We ended that years ago. But you know you're still a good friend. You called with a problem and I'm here to help with that problem."

She pouted. "Are you not interested? Surely I haven't changed that much." Alicia seemed to gather some more confidence and moved to him again, tugging on his jacket's lapels, drawing herself closer to him. "Am I not attractive to you anymore?" Her fingers made their way to his tie and she began to loosen it.

_Oh boy. _

Alicia Hayworth was a bombshell who knew it. Petite and fit, she was well-dressed in an expensively tailored-suit that hinted at her wealth. She had luscious brunette curls that cascaded just past her shoulders. Brown eyes. Killer mouth that he knew from experience would bring a man to his knees.

Completely his type.

He couldn't have been less interested.

Five years ago, Alicia Hayworth had had a sexual magnetism that Lee couldn't resist. But now…not so much. There was just something about her now that totally turned him off.

Not wanting to bruise her ego entirely, Lee decided that flattery was the safest bet. Lee did so with a forced chuckle when he responded, "No, no, Alicia, you are more beautiful now than ever, believe me." Once again, he found himself fending off her advances and he had to firmly push her away from him.

She batted her eyes at him and simpered, "Then what's the problem? Are you…seeing someone?"

Lee froze when a different brunette's face flashed through his mind. He cleared his throat and replied, "Uh…no…not really. No. Well, I could be, uh…no…" irritated by the crack in his voice, he said more forcefully, "No." He moved around the loveseat to create space between them and tried once again to change the subject. "Now, Alicia, when you called me, I thought you really had a problem. Please tell me that you weren't just calling to get me to come here to start something up again."

She laughed and put her hands on her hips, causing her breasts to strain against the silk fabric of her top. "Oh, Lee, you know I wouldn't take advantage of you like that. But you know I _would_ take _full_ advantage of the situation. Now, that's entirely possible."

He ignored her insinuation. "The agency normally wouldn't be brought into something like this, but because you're an old friend…I mean, we _do _havea history together so I was able to get my superiors on board." Lee tightened his tie and buttoned his suit jacket, effectively closing her off from him. "How about you tell me more about the reason you called?"

"Aww, a girl can try, can't she?" When he shot her a look, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She sat on the edge of the loveseat before looking back at him. "Okay, I can see you won't let me wear you down until we get down to business.

"Well, to start, one of our models called in two days ago saying that she wouldn't be back for the rest of the shoot. Nicole is not like that, Lee, and besides, she's under a contract with us. Breaking it is _huge. _She's one of our primary models. We often use her for our two-page spreads…ones that we use to sell the 'fantasy'; she's usually on the cover and used for the whole theme of our catalog! I'm telling you, Lee; this is not something Nicole would ever do. With that on top of all the rumors, I just couldn't risk it. So, I called you."

"She called you?" Confused, Lee asked, "When she was already on location?"

Alicia nodded. "Yes, well, Sunday night she rode into to town with the crew, you know, sometimes the models will do that. She said she needed to run to K-mart in town to grab, uh, some personal items. Michael, he's the one who drove the crew into town that night, agreed to take her back to the mansion after dinner. I already knew something was wrong because Michael told me the next morning that by the time he had driven back to pick her up, she'd called a cab and was waiting for it. Apparently, Nicole told him she had to go back home and that she'd already booked a flight out of Colorado. He said he waited with her until it the cab came. She was already off-site by the time she called to tell me she wouldn't be returning."

"So…." Lee replied, thoughtful, "Did you check out her story? What exactly did she tell you when you spoke with her on the phone?"

"It was yesterday morning when she called me saying that she'd found out her mother was sick and she was home."

"Ok. So why are you so sure she's missing, not just home with her family? "

Clearly agitated, Alicia explained, "I realized right after our call that I hadn't arranged where to send her final paycheck. The models usually collect their checks immediately after the shoot. Nicole told me on the phone that she would be home with her family for an indefinite amount of time and wouldn't be returning. So, I called the only number I have on file for her family home." She stood up, eyes intent. "I spoke to her mother, Lee. She told me she is fit as a fiddle_. _ _And _she told me that she hadn't heard from Nicole in over _two _weeks. I didn't say anything to her about Nicole leaving…I was just so shocked that I hung up and contacted you instead."

Lee ran a hand through his hair. "I can see why this is alarming to you, but we can't get too excited yet. Tell me about the other things you've noticed; the things with the crew."

"Like I said on the phone, I've been noticing some weird things."

"Weird, how?"

Alicia rubbed at her neck. "Missing film, mainly. I watch Marcus take pictures all day and burn through film -there should be rolls and rolls to go through and some days the yield seems less than half of what I would expect. Our film, Lee, is not the property of the photographer or the crew. Rebekkah's Fantasies has sole ownership of all of it. We give artistic credit, of course, but the rights belong to the company. So, where have all the pictures gone?"

"When is the film developed and what's the normal procedure?"

"All of the film is shipped to our lab in New York. From there, its processed and awaits approval for our spreads."

"How often is the film shipped out of here?"

"We send it out every couple of days, to get a head start on the approval process. We used to wait until the end of the shoot, and the film would come back with me, but sometimes some of the film would be bad, and we'd have to reshoot some. This is the only way we can utilize our time the best. Since there is no way to see the quality of the pictures immediately, we try to jumpstart the process."

"How does it get shipped?"

"We send a runner into town who drops it off at a Federal Express drop-off station. Depending on when it gets through their system, our headquarters can have it the next day or two."

"Have you heard from headquarters that the amount of film coming through is not as much as expected?"

She shook her head. "Actually, there hasn't been, which surprises me. I don't know, Lee, I almost think that Marcus is taking _more _pictures than normal so he can keep some for himself."

"But, why? Why would he do that? What's in it for him? If he's under contract with you, and knows that the film is owned by Rebekkah's Fantasies, then what purpose would it serve him to keep the film?" When she didn't respond, Lee thought out loud, "Say he's keeping them for his own voyeuristic pleasure. That seems off to me and not something someone in his position would do. He could just wait until the catalog came out, right? So…that begs the question, is he selling the film? Is he…trying to undermine your operation here to sell out to someone higher, like Victoria's Secret or Frederick's of Hollywood?"

"Let me just stop you there, Lee," Alicia said, obviously affronted. "What my catalog sells is so much more than what either of those companies do. They can't even touch what we have to offer."

"Well, maybe Marcus wants to get into something that's…" Lee searched for the word, "tamer. Tell me about the way your crew and photographer's work for you. Are they obligated to only work for you or are they allowed to seek outside work?"

"Well, a little of both, actually. They're under a contractual agreement with us only when they're on our projects. So, that's only when we do our spring and fall catalog, and sometimes on our special holiday collections if needed. We often set aside time for holiday collections during the regular catalog shoots to save money and time. We take a lot of the pictures in advance of the release of the catalog, so that we have plenty to work with throughout the year. That means the crew and photographers are free to take other work in between our shoots."

"Okay." Lee filed away that information. "So, you think there is missing film. What else are you noticing with the crew?"

"Well, there are rumors going around that my models are looking into the adult-film industry."

"Is that surprising, considering what you're selling here?"

"From an outsider looking in, maybe." She leaned forward. "But my girls are classy and we strictly forbid them from doing that kind of work. That's part of their contract with us."

"What happens if they breach that part of their contract?"

"They're let go effective immediately. All of their work that hasn't been published will be pulled, and we sever all ties with them."

"So, pretty serious ramifications, then."

"Lee, we may not be a clean, family-friendly kind of business, but we do have our standards."

"Have you found any proof that any of your models have turned to porn?"

"Just about a year ago, there was one of my newly hired models that did. Marcus found out through the grapevine she'd been in one, and when we tried to confront her, she resigned before we could fire her. She hadn't even been to a photo shoot yet, so it made no impact on business. Do you think I'm crazy to think that the missing film, a missing model, and the porn-industry are all tied together?"

Lee shook his head. "No, I don't think you're crazy."

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading. Review if you can, I do hope you enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Happy Belated Halloween, all! Have a terrific weekend. Enjoy!

* * *

Knowing this could be the break they were waiting for, Amanda agreed to meet with Marcus on the back porch no later than four-thirty the next morning. She'd prodded for more information but Marcus only hedged, insisting it was 'no big deal' if she didn't want to help him. He wouldn't say anymore beyond needing her to do him a favor citing the reason was that she would be the one to travel into town for props the next day.

It wasn't long after this agreement that Amanda left the common area. Instead of going to her room, she headed to the third-floor and to room 3D—Lee's room. As much as she didn't want to, she needed to talk to him tonight. He had to know about the rendezvous in the morning. That was why he was there, after all. She shouldn't fly solo.

She was just topping the third-floor landing and rounding the corner when she spied Alicia coming out of room 3D with Lee just behind her. Quickly, Amanda jumped back out of sight, pressing herself flat against the wall. She peeked around the corner in time to watch Alicia turn and wrap her arms around Lee's neck, saying huskily, "You know, Lee, we do have a history, and you know I'm not looking for a future, but how about a 'now'? It could be fun. You know, a little repeat of the past."

Amanda pulled her gaze away, feeling embarrassed and a little heartsick that she'd caught the two of them in the hallway. Lee's answer was muffled but there was soon the unmistakable sound of their kissing.

It shouldn't have surprised her to find them still together. Who knew what they'd been doing in that room, but from sounds of it, they would easily be finding their way back there for a little somethin' somethin'.

Amanda debated whether to just forget about talking with him again tonight or not. He looked awfully busy, truthfully. No doubt that he'd soon be inviting the evocative brunette back inside his room for a nightcap. Alicia was a gorgeous woman who had a history with Lee and knew what he liked. She wasn't looking anything for more than a fling, which was right up Scarecrow's alley, and he would probably take full advantage of her offer.

Lee liked the opposite sex and enjoyed the chase. Amanda had seen that enough in the past; had watched the steno pool swooning all over him, had watched how he enjoyed the attention. He'd made the rounds and the rumors that flew around the office surely had merit.

Because he was a gorgeous, virile man that was hard to resist. Amanda watched woman after woman make fools of themselves when Lee gave them the slightest amount of attention.

She'd been one of those fools at times.

Oh, she wasn't _fooled _by him, oh no. Not fooled. But she had found herself sucked into his charm more than once; by the kind of words that rolled off his tongue like _"I need you" _or when he said her name just so _"A-man-da"_. In the past just a simple look from him would have her doing whatever he needed – feeding his fish, searching for a comb, going on a honeymoon cruise…sometimes she was shocked at the things he could get her to do. And the entire time she was doing those things, in the back of her mind she knew, _knew,_ she was being played.

But he was just…Lee. There was just something about Lee that made Amanda not mind being played by him. Because, especially in the beginning, he had a choice. He didn't have to ask for her help with anything beyond their assignments—yet time and time again, he would pick_ her_ out of all the steno-pool's line-up, even when he would grumble and complain at being stuck with her or that she was too inexperienced, he still chose _her. _

So, in a way, it wasn't really that he was playing her. He obviously counted on her, and really, Lee was about a good a friend as she had ever had. He was always there for her; he'd do the sweetest things sometimes—even when he acted put out—and he'd saved her butt so many times she couldn't even count.

But right now, he was _not _choosing her. He was choosing Alicia and all she represented—easy and in the moment. He was unattached; there was nothing stopping him from enjoying what was being offered to him so willingly.

And she had no right to be upset about it.

Before Amanda had time to turn around and head back down the stairs to the second floor to her own room, there was the distinctive click of the door closing and the soft-padding of footsteps coming toward her. Plastering on her most cheerful expression (and she was getting pretty good at that smile after the past few hours), she rounded the corner.

With false cheer, she exclaimed, "Oh, hello, Alicia!"

"Oh, Amanda," Alicia said with a startled expression, fluffing her curls and straightening herself that suggested what Amanda already knew. "You must be on your way to your room?"

Amanda bounced on her heels and rubbed her hands together, and looked behind her, half expecting someone to be there. Keeping pretense was important if anyone was listening in who shouldn't be. "Oh, yes, it was quite a day. I already feel like I've learnt so much. I just want to get rested up so I can start bright and early in the morning!"

"Yes, bed sounds wonderful, doesn't it?"

_Indeed, _Amanda thought, aware that Alicia was talking about more than just sleep. She schooled her features. "Are you on your way back to the estate?"

"Oh, yes, yes." Alicia cast a look behind her to where Lee's door was. "I suppose I am."

"Oh, that's just…" Amanda smiled and nodded. "That's just great, Alicia."

"Yes, well, I guess I'll be on my way…" Alicia pointed behind her with her thumb quietly adding, "Lee's in room 3D; I'm sure the two of you have a lot to talk about. Have a good night!"

Amanda rubbed her temples once Alicia left her alone in the hallway. Feeling even less eager to talk with Lee than a few minutes before, she took a deep breath and stepped to his door and gave three sharp raps with her knuckles.

***BREAK***

Lee leaned against the room's door and breathed in heavily. Alicia was nothing if not dogged. He'd forgotten how strong-willed she could be when she wanted something, and he could easily say that she was on the prowl tonight. Even with a model missing, she still had her sights on him.

He pushed away from the door and as he did, there was light rapping from the other side. Sighing, he opened the door, expecting to find Alicia but found Amanda there instead.

His heart leapt to his throat. "Hi."

Instead of the sweet smile he was expecting, Amanda didn't even meet his eye when she pushed past him.

"Why, come on in," he said brusquely, shutting the door and turning to follow her. "I thought you said you didn't want to meet up tonight. Uhhh…what's got you so worked up?" Lee asked, not liking the scowl on her face when she finally turned around. He chose to ignore it and moved past her. "Please sit down."

"Oh, no, this will only take a moment." Her tone was clipped. "I just wanted to let you know that Marcus asked me meet up with him early tomorrow morning."

"Oh? That's great, Amanda!" Lee unbuttoned his jacket and shrugged it off. "Did he say what for?"

She shook her head. "He wouldn't say, just that he wants me to meet him; that I could do something to help him."

"Good, good. That's great. Well, what time?" Lee stepped up to her and placed a hand on each of her arms, forcing her to look up at him. "I can be down stairs to make sure everything is safe and be there as back up."

Amanda jerked her head to the side and looked down, shrugging. "Oh, I don't know, Lee. Sounds like you'll be at the mansion? You know, for a repeat."

Lee stilled a moment before replying, "If I didn't know better, Amanda King, I would say you've been eavesdropping on me."

She pulled out of his grasp and replied with a sweet, syrupy smile, "It's my business to eavesdrop."

Surprised, Lee sputtered, "Oh, Amanda. It's just business."

"It always is."

He blew out a breath and loosened his tie. "Yeah, well, this time it really is. Alicia was just here, telling me about a missing model and a pornography conspiracy." Briefly, he explained what Alicia had shared.

Amanda's curiosity got the better of her. "Oh? Really? That's funny, Marcus told me at dinner tonight it's_ Alicia_ who is looking into getting in the adult-film industry."

Lee looked puzzled as she filled him about Marcus' allegations toward his boss. "That's not what Alicia told me. She's firmly against it and there are clauses in each of the model's contracts to discourage them starring in anything of the sort."

Amanda wringed her hands together. "Well, why would Marcus tell me something like that?"

"I don't know. How did you react when he was telling you about it?"

She thought back and shrugged. "I just asked him what Alicia would have to gain by going in that direction. I didn't give much of a reaction. Peter, though, he seemed uncomfortable."

"That's really great, great work, Amanda." He shrugged out of his shoulder holster and set it on the nightstand. "The less reaction the better with Marcus. The more you can keep the façade of being neutral and that you're not here to gather information, the more likely it is that he'll ask you to help him."

"What do you think he wants me to do so early in the morning?"

"We'll just have to wait and see." Lee glanced at his watch. "What time does he want you to meet him?"

"Four-thirty. Breakfast is ready at five. We leave at five-thirty to head to the location and start set-up at six."

"Okay…I'll be downstairs at quarter after four. Alicia asked me to be at the location at nine, so you'll have some time at the location without me."

Amanda folded her arms across her chest. "I'll actually be pretty busy before you get there."

***BREAK***

Sensing her hesitancy, Lee again placed his hands on each of her upper arms and gave her a gentle shake. "Hey." When she didn't meet his gaze, he bent a little closer and said softly, "Hey. I really am sorry this is such a strange situation. I know it's not our typical case. But if there really has been a kidnapping, I wouldn't want you here alone. Even if it turns out to be nothing being alone out here is still a lot to ask."

She finally looked up and gave him a reluctant smile. "Oh, I know, Lee."

They shared a long look, his thumbs stroking the inside of her biceps. Lee found himself noticing the light flecks of gold in her dark-chocolate eyes, full of warmth. He became aware that her mouth was mere inches away from his own. All he would have to do was dip down slightly and…his heart sped up and suddenly he felt clammy. Abruptly, he pulled away from her and cleared his throat.

_What the hell was that? _ He thought, rubbing the back of his neck, not looking at her. Coolly, he said, "Well, I guess you'd,..ah..you'd better go get some rest. You probably need to call your mother, huh?"

She gave him a curious look, but didn't say anything right away. "Yes, you're right. Its late at home but Mother will surely be waiting."

Lee chanced a glance at her. She stood there with her arms folded, considering him. He ran a hand awkwardly through his hair and said stiffly, "Okay, well, then…I guess I'll see you…in the morning, then."

She gave him a flat smile. "Okay. Well, you have a good night."

Lee followed her to the door but stayed an arm's length away, unsure of himself for some reason.

Opening the door slightly, Amanda poked her head out before giving him a quick look over her shoulder. "All clear."

She let herself out, squeezing through the door with one last smile. Lee stood dumbly for a moment before he took the two steps to the door. His hand paused on the handle; eventually he turned the knob. He looked out into the now vacant hallway, feeling strangely empty and utterly confused.

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Thank you for all your reviews, favorites, and follows. Please, if you have the time, let me know what you think of my work - meh? Yeah? - I like to read your comments and appreciate them a ton. Thanks again!


	7. Chapter 7

AUTHORS NOTE: Happy Thursday! A little present as tomorrow will be filled with family and I won't have time to post, so I thought instead of waiting, the FF world might enjoy a gift. My goal is once per week - on Friday, Sat or Sun depending. So this is a bit early.

Thank you to all of you and your kind words. They mean a lot!

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CHAPTER 7

At exactly four-thirty the next morning, Amanda sat on the back-porch steps, waiting for Marcus to appear. Though there had been some stirrings inside, no one else had yet to make an appearance out of their rooms. She hadn't seen a trace of Lee, either, but knew he was somewhere nearby observing the scene, ready to jump in if needed. She checked her watch again, noting that Marcus was officially late.

The sun had not yet risen and it was still quite dark sitting alone on the step. Feeling chilled, she pulled her sweater closer to her, enjoying the quiet stillness of the dawn. It would have been quite peaceful if only she weren't on assignment.

A few minutes passed before she finally heard the screen door behind her being pushed open and slammed shut with a loud slap. Glancing back, she watched a dark figure come close before Marcus sat down beside her on the step, holding a mug of steaming coffee in each hand.

"Here you go," he said, handing her a cup. "The owner of this place makes it strong. I put some cream in it."

She took it from his outstretched hand and cautiously sipped. "Thank you." When he said nothing, she continued with a laugh, "You know, meeting like this makes me think whatever it is you're having me do is dodgy."

"Dodgy? Nah," Marcus chuckled and took a sip of his own coffee. "There isn't anything shady going on. It's just that you'll be going into town for props today, guaranteed, so it makes sense for you to take these canisters of film in to be dropped off for processing."

Setting his cup down at his feet, Marcus drew out a manila envelope from under his jacket and handed it to her. Hesitant, Amanda set her own mug down before taking it from him. She turned it in her hands, feeling through the thin envelope the obvious shape of five or six canisters of film.

Glancing over at him, she queried, "Why are you having these processed in town? Isn't there a studio or somewhere you need to ship these to?"

"Now, Amanda," he schooled, "You're just an intern, and I know you don't know how these things work. Relax, they're just proofs anyway. I take a number of test pictures mixed in with what we send off to our studios to make sure there are no issues with the film. I wouldn't want all of my shots to be wasted. Besides, once this film has been processed, if they're any good, I get them all back and forward them on. This is just the way I do things. I don't want to submit shoddy work to the company. You can understand that, can't you?"

Quietly, she said, "It just seems like an awful lot of film, that's all."

"Hey, now, I'm the pro. Just do this for me, and you'll see that this a great way for a photographer to work." He picked his coffee up and slurped loudly.

She fingered the sealed lip of the envelope, thinking of what Lee had told her the night before about the missing film. It couldn't be a coincidence that she was being asked to take film off-site. "Where am I taking these?"

"If you can get into town by ten, ten-thirty for the props, there will be someone at Kmart waiting for you in the snack bar. You don't need to worry about his name; he'll be expecting you. Just make sure that when you give him this," he motioned to the package in her hands, "that he gives you one in return. Then go about your business, buy our props and come back to the location. When you get back, just put the envelope in my duffle that has all my gear-it'll be wherever I'm working."

Amanda, still dubious, looked at him. "That's all? Just exchange this envelope for another envelope? What's in the other one?"

"Just the shots that were developed earlier in the week. That's it. That's all there is."

Rustling in the house behind them indicated that the crew was beginning to shuffle downstairs for breakfast. Marcus stood up, mug in hand. "Go throw that into your purse and no one will notice you have it. Why don't you go do that and then come enjoy some breakfast? Oh, and Amanda?" He gave her wink. "Don't say anything to anyone about this, would ya? No one cares, but it just keeps it simpler that way."

"Oh, no, of course not." Nodding, Amanda stood up to follow him. She turned to make her way up the steps, and noticed Lee coming out of a dark shadow across from her, tensely watching as she hoisted the envelope into the crook of her arm. She gave him a slight nod of acknowledgement before heading inside.

***BREAK***

There'd been no chance to talk with Amanda before she'd left with the crew to head to the mansion. She still had the package Marcus had given her and Lee knew he needed to meet up with her eventually to talk through the next steps. He'd been able to hear most of their conversation from his vantage point behind the garage and knew she needed to be in town by ten.

That didn't leave a lot of time, so after Lee had called and given Billy an update, left the B and B early and arrived to the mansion by eight-thirty. Alicia met him as soon as he arrived. and began a quick tour. They started first at the conservatory, filled with cut flowers, potted plants, and garden necessities. A corner area had obviously been used the day before as a shoot location, complete with props sitting haphazardly in and out of boxes and backdrops no one had bothered yet to clean up.

Lee continued to follow Alicia through the house as she pointed areas out. He made note of the countless models milling about, realizing just how correct Amanda had been regarding their lack of attire. Every one of them seem to enjoy wearing next to nothing—even when there didn't appear to be a shoot they were specifically assigned to at the moment. A number of them came up to blatantly flirt with him—which he tried to ignore. It was disconcerting having multiple young women at least ten years his junior rubbing up against him before nine in the morning. Although, he had to admit, it was rather flattering. He had to judiciously extract himself from out of their grip more than once and then further extract himself out of Alicia's roving hands.

Amanda had also been right when she'd remarked flippantly that hormones were running wild here. He'd be lucky to make it out alive or without a disease of some sort.

"Let's go see how the team is working on their shoot this morning," Alicia was saying, leading him to a set of double doors. "We're shooting the office fantasy first and then we'll be making our way to the kitchen fantasy scene. If we're quiet, we can watch them and you can see just how far my little business has come."

Alicia pulled open the door just enough for the two of them to slip quietly through, going unnoticed by the various crew and models who were already set up and in the middle of their shoot.

Marcus stood behind the camera and Amanda was in front of it, busily fussing with a model dressed in a lacy black bra and matching panty, complete with a garter belt and stockings. The model sat behind a massive mahogany desk. A bored-looking male model, dressed in a well-pressed gray three-piece suit, leaned against a bookshelf, waiting for direction. The other photographer, who Amanda had mentioned was named Peter, stood off to the side, ready to jump in when needed.

Even though he'd been prepared for what he'd be walking into, Lee was taken aback at the sight of Amanda leaning over a half-naked woman, helping her with positioning. Silently, he moved as far back out of the way as he could and tried to blend into the background, never taking his eyes off of the scene that was laid out in front of him.

***BREAK***

Amanda, who hadn't yet noticed their arrival, moved around the office purposefully.

She actually was beginning to enjoy herself, oddly. Her task for this morning was to come up with ways to play out an office fantasy to be submitted for the spring catalog. She'd given it a fair amount of thought about it during the night and had arrived to the mansion prepared, ready to face this challenge with as much creativity and confidence as she could muster.

Surveying the props in front of her, she thought back to the times she'd more regularly perused such catalogs and the racier magazines of Joe's that she sometimes ran across. The themes had always been the same: sex. So, the hotter the better, she decided. The only way to get through this was to not be afraid to explore how to sell the product and just go for it.

She turned her attention back to the models."Michelle, I wonder if we started you out at the window and then worked our way to the desk? That might be good. I have these files," Amanda held some folders up, "And I'm thinking we could drop them and have you pick them up, while Enrico looks on and then maybe…helps you with them."

Michelle happily complied, standing up and heading to the window while Amanda adjusted the drapes to let in the sun. Gathering up more files, Amanda handed them to the model. She found a pair of reading glasses and them handed to Michelle as well. Amanda then began the process of body placement, encouraging the model to stand this way and that in sexy poses, before bringing Enrico over to stand over Michelle.

Her task currently complete, Amanda stepped out of the shot to let Marcus begin snapping away while the lighting crew moved in to better light the scene. Taking the opportunity, she moved to take a closer look at the props laid out on the desk. A typewriter, notebooks, pens, and newspapers all were lined out, but nothing really jumped out at her. She glanced again at Michelle, who was now sitting on the window sill, looking back at the camera while Marcus encouraged her on.

Peter joined her at the desk. "Finding any inspiration?"

She shrugged, picking up a file folder and flipping through it. "Nothing like bank statements to get you hot and bothered, I guess."

He laughed. "I know plenty of women who find that a turn-on."

Amanda gave him a pinched smile. "Isn't that lovely."

Peter picked up a newspaper and then set it back down again. Amanda looked at him curiously, wondering what he needed. He gave her a small smile, and she returned it, feeling awkward.

After a moment, she motioned toward the models and said, "Well…I better get back to it."

He nodded, winked and said, "Have fun."

Curiously, she watched him move behind Marcus and his camera. Peter was a nice guy and she wondered if maybe…he was looking for a date. Shaking off the thought, she turned her attention back to the models.

Actually, she thought in peculiarly proud way, the scene she'd help set seemed very provocative. Watching it in a purely professionally way, she wondered what more could be added to make it even more so.

She moved a step closer and called out, "Enrico, take your suit jacket off and maybe…loosen your tie. Michelle, stay where you are at the window sill and have Enrico lean over you…and grab his tie as if to get him to come closer to you for a kiss."

The two models complied and soon Marcus himself was encouraging them on, moving in closer for better shots. Satisfied, Amanda moved back to the desk and began clearing it away, thinking about what she could use for the next set of shots, all thoughts of Peter and a date gone from her mind.

***BREAK***

Lee watched in stunned silence.

He'd watched with growing irritation while Peter, the back-up photographer, attempted to hit on Amanda. It had pleased him to no end when she'd completely missed what the guy was doing and rebuffed him without even realizing it. What a schmuck, Lee thought. The guy was a total loser.

Immediately upon shutting the fool down, Amanda moved to the models once again. She was currently assisting the female model with shrugging on the male model's suit jacket, rolling up its sleeves while laughing at something someone nearby had said. He watched in fascination as Amanda gestured for the female model to sit on the edge of the desk and prop her foot seductively on the office chair where the male model was now sitting.

It was hot.

What he was watching right now was shockingly hot. And _Amanda_ was creating it.

He was suddenly very worried about staying professional. He watched when Amanda showed the models how the female model should flip her hair back and expose her throat seductively while explaining that the male model should watch on, and Lee felt utter disbelief. This wasn't something that he had ever expected of Amanda and if he weren't watching it firsthand, he wouldn't have never believed it.

She'd always seemed so sheltered and…frigid wasn't quite the right word, Lee decided. But definitely, he'd never thought of her as having much for thoughts in the sexual fantasy department. If he dwelled on it much, he would have probably said she would be in the exclusively-missionary only camp.

Although what he was seeing right now highly disputed that assumption. Highly.

_Ugh, Lee! _ He chided himself. _Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Focus on the case. _His eyes stayed locked on her as she acted out a seductive pose and his mind instantly began wandering once again.

"You've sent in a real pro, Lee," Alicia said under her breath, interrupting his lewd thoughts. "I'm impressed."

He jerked his gaze away from the steamy scene before him and cleared his throat. He pulled at his collar, feeling a fine sheen of sweat trickle down his back, and licked his lips. "Yeah, she's a real pro."

* * *

A/N: Review are welcomed - I think I can speak for all of us who write - I wait on them like a dog waits for his kibble. Please be kind and let me know how good, bad or ugly this is! I promise I read them, savor them, and read them again.

Thank you!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Enjoy! (I hope ;) )

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Chapter 8

Amanda felt like she was getting the hang of this now. It was actually liberating to let the models play out something that she normally wouldn't dare think of—in polite company, at least. In private, and with the right person…now that was a completely different story. But truthfully, it had been so long since she'd even been close to a sexual encounter that lately it had been as if that part of her life was long dead and buried. Her last encounter had been with boring-old Dean who would basically put sex on his to-do list and allot a thirty-minute window if he added it onto his calendar at all. Not very exciting in terms of spontaneity or letting the moment take over.

But right now, as she watched the models move their way over to the bookshelf for a shot, she knew that there was still quite a bit of that type of desire still alive in her. She could almost picture herself in that outfit with her non-existent lover gazing down at her lustily. In an office. Crouched over a mahogany desk. Begging to be kissed. Begging for a tall, dark, well-dressed, handsome man with great hair and beautiful hazel eyes to take her in his arms and-

"Model change!"

Flustered, Amanda pulled herself out of her reverie and looked guiltily around. Alicia stood in the back of the room with Lee beside her, calling out to the group at large for a switch in wardrobe and models.

Amanda felt the tell-tale blush of crimson creeping up her neck when she met Lee's eyes, and quickly looked away, struggling to pretend she hadn't yet noticed him or the fact that her non-existent lover looked suddenly, alarmingly familiar.

The atmosphere in the room changed abruptly. The crew was suddenly more alert: bustling around, changing lighting and moving furniture.

She wondered fleetingly just how long Lee and Alicia had been standing there, watching them work. Horrendously uncomfortable at the thought, she kept her head down and approached Marcus, who was changing film from out of his camera.

"You know," Marcus said, capping a canister to a roll of film, "you're a natural at this, Amanda."

"Thank you, Marcus," she beamed, shrugging, "I'm just taking the topic and thinking of ways to sell it. It may seem natural, but I don't know if I'm all that good."

Talking sexual fantasies with a virtual stranger was very peculiar. Even though it was business—and even though Amanda was forcing herself to think of it on a purely professional level—it was still bizarre. She wondered if eventually those in the business got sick of it and lost interest in the actual sexual act.

She doubted it. She doubted if very much.

"Well, keep it up," Marcus replied, "It makes my job a whole lot easier. Any thoughts on the kitchen fantasy?"

She hesitated while he continued loading his camera before answering, "Oh, food probably, right? That seems the most logical choice. I'm thinking a pie with some cherries, maybe a can of whip cream?"

"Nice, nice. You know," he said, snapping the back of his camera shut. "I don't think we have any of those specific items. You're going to have to run into town to get those things. Maybe you should sit down and figure out what other props we'll need for the next two fantasies and have Alicia give you the company card so you can run into town and get it all."

He looked around the room and motioned to the back corner. "Alicia's over there with her lover boy. Come with me."

Together they made their way across the room to where Alicia stood absurdly close to Lee, who talking to the male model, Enrico. Lee was in his full-Scarecrow mode. In his very airy, spirited way, he was going on and on about how natural the models looked together from his vantage point at the back of the room. As she and Marcus drew closer, Amanda heard him gushing to Enrico, "You two just look so comfortable together, really!"

He stopped his syrupy prose when she and Marcus stopped at the edge of their group. He gave them both a wide smile, moved to allow them into the circle, and stuck out his hand to Marcus "Lee Stimpson, great job with the photography, really. It's just fantastic what you're doing here, truly. I'm in the business of documentaries, but I can still appreciate an artist when I meet one, and this…well, this is just art."

Marcus, looking bored, took Lee's hand and shook it. "Thank you, Mr. Stimpson."

Lee, not seeming to notice or care about Marcus' lack of enthusiasm, turned his attention to Amanda and shook her hand, introducing himself as if they had never met. "You seem to have a knack for the business."

He held onto her hand just a little too long and Amanda felt again the crimson heat of embarrassment creeping up her neck. "Amanda Keene. And…thank you." She pulled her hand out of his grasp when he squeezed it reassuringly. "The models are the ones with the real talent, I'm really very new to all of this."

"Well, you could have fooled me," Lee responded with an over-the-top laugh, looking around the group for consensus, "Am I right?"

Rubbing her hands together, Amanda didn't say anything more, not trusting herself to not embarrass herself further. When Marcus turned his attention to Alicia, Amanda willingly followed suit, glad to move away from the topic of her 'knack'.

"Alicia," Marcus said, "Amanda's going to need the corporate card and the keys to the van. We need her to go buy some props for the kitchen fantasy. Pies, cherries, whip cream…that sort of thing."

"Oh, of course, Amanda. You'll need to come with me, though, the credit card is the _actual _office, which obviously isn't in here!" Alicia gave a raucous laugh and slid an arm through Lee's, steering him toward the double doors, motioning for Amanda to follow. "Come with us."

Rolling her eyes, Amanda raised her eyebrows at Marcus, gave a finger wave at him before trailing after them. She hated being treated like a lost-puppy-dog, having to listen to Alicia's simpering and put-upon laughter. She glowered at their backs, hating how Lee leaned in closer and smiled when Alicia whispered up at him.

Moving further down the hall, Alicia finally turned back to Amanda as if remembering she was even there. "So…pies, huh?"

Her expression neutral, Amanda kept her eyes straight ahead, mentally giving herself a pep-talk to forge ahead: _Remember, Amanda, do NOT let Lee see you crack! Stay in-character. This is your COVER! _"Yes, Ma'am, a pie. We are trying to sell a fantasy here, so I'm thinking, whip cream, a cherry on top, maybe the model spraying the cream into the camera?" She heard Lee's sharp intake of breath as they continued down the hall, passing models and crew as they went. Calmly, she added, "Maybe we could set the stage with a baking project, have Michelle in an apron that Enrico could take off her or maybe have the models at the table, feeding each other things. You know, some people like that sort of thing."

Lee coughed but Amanda completely ignored him, desperately pretending that he wasn't listening.

"That's probably very true, Amanda. I'll be anxious to see those proofs." Alicia stopped in front of a closed door, taking a key from her pocket. She unlocked the door, motioning the two of them inside. "Now, let me get that credit card."

****BREAK****

Lee let Amanda and Alicia into the room first and closed the door behind them. When he turned back to face the two ladies, they were already deep in conversation about the credit card and Amanda's upcoming trip into town.

Listening to Amanda ramble on about whip cream and pies in the hallway had thrown him for a loop. He'd love to see just what she would do with her little list of items from town. He was surprised at how anxious he was to watch the kitchen photoshoot first hand. He would bet money it would be twice as entertaining and far more erotic than as the office fantasy he'd just witnessed.

Seriously, pies, whip cream, taking _off _an apron? What would be underneath? He wondered if Amanda had any say in the outfits….and what she'd choose….

Lee shook himself out of that thought. _You are not here to watch Amanda find ways to play out sexual fantasies, _he berated himself silently and then had to stop. _**Amanda**__ has nothing to do with sexual fantasies, Lee!_

But watching her now animatedly talking with Alicia, it was hard to keep that train of thought. He moved toward them and caught the words _teddy _and _G-string._ Desperate to change the subject, he interrupted them by saying, "Uh…maybe we should talk about what Marcus had to say to you this morning, Amanda." Under his breath, he begged, "Please."

Amanda stopped in the middle of her sentence about bustiers and garter belts, casting a glance at him. She clasped her hands together, bouncing on her feet as she nodded. "Uh, sure." She recounted her conversation on the back porch of the bed and breakfast.

When she stopped to take a breath, Lee asked, "Where did you put the package of film that he gave you?"

She jerked her head toward the closed door. "In my purse—it's in the coat room."

"Okay," Lee replied, "then I'm going to need to switch out some of those canisters and get them to the local PD to develop ASAP. Billy made sure that we had full use of their facility and it looks like we're going to need it. We have to know what Marcus is selling and why."

Alicia piped up, "What kind of film are you going to trade it for?"

"Exposed film." Lee unbuttoned his jacket and put his hands on his hips. "No reason to tip our hand, whoever develops it will surely be used to film being ruined prior to development. If we only switch a few of them it shouldn't raise too much suspicion."

"Wait a minute, Lee," Alicia said, placing her hands on the desk and leaning over it. "The fact that Marcus gave _film_ to Amanda is enough to breech his contract. Why shouldn't I just confront him and demand answers?"

"If you confront him right now, Alicia, you guarantee he won't say anything about Nicole and it will risk her safety."

She visibly slumped. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just…this is just so shocking to me. He has no authority to take that film off-site."

"Well, that's why Marcus is having an intern do it," Lee reasoned. "If you were to find Amanda with it, he would insist she's lying when she tells you he instructed her to take it to a processor. You'd likely believe him over someone who just came onsite and just dump her instead of him." Lee looked over at Amanda. "It's the perfect set up to guarantee that the film wouldn't be linked back to him. He'd just deny it, and who would Alicia be more likely to believe? The intern, who has been here for less than a day, or the photographer who has been with her for years? It would just look as if Amanda were going to send the film to a competitor to use the photos as an edge on the business."

Amanda nodded. "Corporate espionage."

Lee snapped his fingers. "Exactly."

"But what about the missing model?" Lee looked between the two women. "If Alicia hadn't caught Nicole in her lie, I would be assuming that this _was _corporate espionage. Case closed."

Alicia nodded. "And what you said is true. I would have believed Marcus over an intern."

"We need to find out what's on that film."

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A/N: Thank you for every review, follow and favorite. This is a fun story to write. If you have time, I enjoy your thoughts and it spurs me on. Update, I am 18 chapters in. I have to go back and tweak things to make sure it all makes sense throughout before I post so that's why it's not all in your hands. I am not quite finished but so so so so close!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm getting so close to finishing, I decided to gift an early release if anyone would like to read.

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Credit card, grocery list and keys in hand, Amanda climbed into the driver's seat of the van to head into town ten minutes later. She checked her watch one last time. There was just enough time to get to the snack bar inside of Kmart to make the switch. She unzipped her purse, ensured the envelope Marcus had given to her was still there, set both the list and the credit card on top, zipped the bag closed and set it on the back floorboard.

Adjusting the rearview mirror, Amanda put the key in the ignition and revved the engine. She pulled out from the back of the large house, cautiously making sure no one was following her when she started down the long drive.

Turning out onto the highway, she was not surprised when Lee popped up from the farthest row of seats. "We all set?"

Keeping her eyes on the road, Amanda replied, "My bag is on the floorboard behind me. You'll have to climb over."

"You never make it easy on me, do ya?" Lee grumbled as he scrambled over the stiff-backed bench seats, tumbling head first into the back of her seat. "Ooff!"

She bit back a smile as she let off the brake. "Not a chance."

Lee hunched low into the backseat. He took the exposed film rolls from his inner suit pocket switched out a number of them from the envelope he pulled from Amanda's bag.

***BREAK***

Pulling into Kmart's parking lot, Lee directed Amanda to back into a spot near a large cluster of trees. He climbed awkwardly to the back of the van and then let himself out as stealthily as possible, ducking behind a large pine. Amanda took her time gathering her things to allow him enough time to enter the store ahead of her.

Satisfied she'd given him ample time to get in and find a covert spot, Amanda hopped out of the van and made her way toward Kmart's entrance. She nervously looked around the parking lot, noting various cars but nothing overly suspicious. There didn't seem to be any one lurking, at least not from what she could see, and that raised her spirits a notch. Hoping everything would go smoothly, Amanda checked her watch one last time before pulling the door open to move through the vestibule to the main part of the store.

The snack bar was to the right of the entrance, just past the Customer Service desk. Not seeing Lee, but assured that he was in fact watching, Amanda moved confidently into the bar, found a table and sat down, pulling the bulky envelope out of her bag and setting in front of her.

A bead of sweat trickled down her back. Annoyed with her nerves, Amanda attempted to slow her breathing while she waited. She tucked a loose stand of hair behind her ear and straightened the envelope ever just so.

It was just now starting to sink in how appreciative she actually was that Lee was here with her. Billy's original plan had been for her to be in alone in Colorado without any back up. It was supposed to have been an easy reconnaissance mission. Information only. But that had changed quickly when Marcus asked her to do this drop, and he would have still asked her, with or without Lee being here. What would she have done if she would have been alone, without any backup? Without Lee? There was no guarantee that anything of what Marcus had told her was the truth, and she wasn't naïve enough to not think otherwise.

This man could try to kidnap her. Or worse.

There was all the possibility in the world that this would end in disaster.

***BREAK***

The front end of the store was vacant of shoppers. There was only one checker, looking bored as she straightened candy bars in her stand. Another employee stood behind the Customer Service Desk, fielding incoming calls. In the snack bar itself contained a mother with two rowdy children who was filling drink cups with cola, a group of retirement-aged men with coffee sitting around a table, a middle-aged man sitting alone, nursing a cola and eating popcorn, and Amanda. She looked a little out of place sitting there with the manila envelope in front of her. Lee observed her looking around, no doubt wondering when exactly she would be approached.

The irony wasn't lost on him that he was currently watching Amanda while skulking behind a rack of lacy bras. He ignored a curious look from an older woman pushing a cart and moved with a smile to a table of underwear, pretending to examine a price tag, covertly keeping tabs on the snack bar.

It was a foregone conclusion that this could become more than a simple drop. He continued surveying the area while he thought it through. If Amanda would have been alone, without him here as backup, Marcus still would have asked her to swap out the film canisters. And Lee would have been in D.C., sick with worry, waiting on the other end of a telephone to find out what happened, wearing a hole through Billy's carpet from his pacing.

And Amanda would have said yes to Marcus, Lee knew. She was always game for whatever came her way to help solve a case. She would still be sitting in that snack bar, waiting, alone. It made his blood run cold. It was a damn good thing Billy had allowed him to come here on the Government's dime. The truth was that Lee had been ready to shell out his own money to be here as it was. For some reason he was always ready to move mountains to ensure Amanda's safety—he never questioned his reasoning, it just was fact. He never wanted Amanda to be in danger.

He pulled himself from of his thoughts when he noticed that the man eating the popcorn had stood up and approached Amanda's table. The man leaned down to say something to her and she smiled, motioning him to take the seat across from her.

There was very little talk between them, but it gave Lee some time pull out his minicamera and snap a picture. He noted that the man was tall, a little soft around the middle, maybe forty-five or so. He wore a Denver Broncos baseball cap with jeans and a plain t-shirt. Pretty run-of-the-mill, small-town kind of look. Nothing that stood out or that seemed suspicious. Just an Average Joe.

Within minutes, the drop was completed. Amanda gathered up her things, one of which was a different manila envelope, said good-bye to the man and stepped out into the main part of the store. The man returned to his seat, popping a handful of popcorn into his mouth and sat back down at his table, taking a swig from his discarded drink.

It had been easy. Not in the least bit dangerous.

Amanda passed Lee without looking his way. He took the opportunity to move to the snack bar, pulling out change and buying a soda. He quickly filled his cup up but when he turned, he realized the man had stood up from his table and was heading for the front door to leave. Snapping his lid on his cup, Lee grabbed a straw before sauntering slowly out of the store, taking his time to appear nonchalant. When he stepped into the sunlight, he noted his target making his way into the parking lot. Lee stepped off the curb to follow.

The man stopped at a newer sedan and unlocked the door. Lee moved across to the next row of cars and reached into his pocket as if to pull out keys, pretending to drop them as he did so. Bending down, Lee glanced over long enough to note the make, model, and plate number of the man's car. Satisfied, he stood back up and moved to a random car's driver's side door and waited while the man pulled out and away. After a few moments, Lee turned around and went back inside to find Amanda.

***BREAK***

He found her in the pharmacy area, perusing allergy medicine.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, coming up behind her.

She jumped and gave him a glare. "I hate it when you do that." She looked back at the selection of medications. "We're doing the stables shoot later today, and I'm still allergic to horses."

"Oh, yeah," he said, "I wondered when Benadryl got sexy."

"Give me time, I may think of way to make it sexy," she retorted, grabbing a green box that was definitely _not _Benadryl and read the ingredients. "Can't have Benadryl today, though, it will put me right to sleep." She tossed the box into her basket and started down the aisle. "I really need the grocery store though, not Kmart."

"I heard. Whip cream, huh?" When she said nothing, Lee added, "I'm impressed with your creativity."

She snorted and turned towards the checkout stands. "Oh, you just might be surprised with my…creativity."

"Oh," he said his voice dropping an octave, and, even though his better judgement was telling him to drop it, added, "And just what will your additions be to the stables?"

"Are you sure you can handle it?" She challenged, throwing her head back saucily.

As she disappeared into a checkout aisle, Lee mumbled under his breath, "I really don't think so, no."

_Where had his sweet innocent Amanda gone?_

****BREAK****

While Amanda was in the grocery store, Lee sat in the back seat of the van and gingerly opened the manila envelope she'd traded out at Kmart. Breaking the seal and looking in, he found only cash and not the pictures that Marcus had told Amanda she'd be receiving. He flipped through the bills, his mind racing as he checked the envelope again for anything else and found nothing.

Ten-thousand dollars. A curious amount of cash for a few rolls of film.

Also, curious Marcus had entrusted an intern to make the trade.

Lee was starting to get a very bad feeling about this.

He glanced over at the rolls of film he had switched out of Marcus' stash. It was a shame that processing film took so long, but if they could covertly drop the canisters off at the police station on their way back to the mansion, a technician could have it processed and ready to look at by the time Lee returned to town tonight.

Amanda was soon unlocking the back of the van and opening its doors. She placed her bags in and slammed the doors shut without saying anything to him, and moved around to the driver's side.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, she called out to him, "Now where?"

"Stop at that gas station just ahead," he directed. "We need to find a way to get this film to the police department."

"What was in the envelope?"

"Cash. Lots of it, considering."

"What do we do with it?" Amanda asked, signaling and turning into the station. She pulled up to a pump and put the van into Park before turning a little in her seat to look back at him.

Lee grimaced and said with reluctance, "We give it to Marcus. This is getting less and less likely to be corporate espionage."

"Here," she said, pulling out a newly purchased envelope from her purse and passing it back to him, "I bought this to use since you were sure to destroy the one you opened."

"Terrific, he won't even know we've opened it." Reaching out, Lee grabbed the fresh envelope and slid the cash in before sealing it shut. He handed it back up to her. "While you fill up the tank, I'll slip out and head to the police department. It's only two blocks ahead. Once you've finished, just pull up in a spot here and wait for me. I won't be long."

He started to maneuver around the van's seat when Amanda stopped him. "Lee?"

Pausing, he glanced at her. She was now staring straight ahead with her hands tightly clenching the steering wheel. "What do you think this has to do with Nicole?"

Lee swallowed hard, pulling open the van's door and looking around to make sure the coast was clear. "I don't know. But we're going to find out." In a swift motion, he jumped out, slammed the door and disappeared out of sight.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are most welcome. Thank you, I hope you have enjoyed this so far. 10 more chapters at least. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Happy soon-to-be weekend!

* * *

Amanda pulled behind the mansion less than an hour later. She backed the van between a tack room and horse-trailer so Lee could exit out of the back without being noticed. Collecting her purse from the back seat and slinging it over her shoulder, she said to Lee when he poked his head up from the very back row, "Give me about a five-minute head start after I get the groceries."

"That will be no problem," came his muffled voice as he ducked backed down and out of sight.

Moving to the back of the van, she gathered the few bags of groceries. She left the doors slightly ajar for Lee and then, with arms full, headed across the dirt road toward a gate that led to the pool and beyond that to the kitchen.

Rocks crunched under her feet when she came to a stop to unlatch the gate's lever. Struggling with her bags, she had just pushed open the heavy wooden door when she heard her name coming from somewhere ahead of her.

"Here, Amanda, let me help you!" Peter rushed over from a sliding glass door and took both sacks of groceries. "I saw you through the window when I was heading to the dining room. Do you have more groceries?"

Gratefully allowing him to take the bags, Amanda turned to shut the gate, looking back surreptitiously to the van to make sure Lee was out of sight before answering, "Oh, no, no, that's all of it! Thank you, Peter!"

There were various float devices and beach loungers they had to maneuver around as they made their way around the pool. Amanda went ahead of Peter to push things out of his way so he wouldn't trip.

"That door just ahead goes to the kitchen," he directed her, pointing awkwardly around the bags he held to a service door. As she ushered him through it he asked, "Were you able to find everything you needed?"

"Yes, thank you."

He set the sacks on a large island and peered inside one of them. "Ah, whip cream."

Emptying the contents one-by-one, Peter named them off, "Maraschino cherries, cherry pie, chocolate syrup. This shoot is going to get messy."

"Yeah, uh…" Amanda tightened her hold on her purse while she watched Peter unpack. "And sticky."

Peter looked up at her and gave a loud laugh. "I suppose so."

They stood across from each other, he on one side of the island and she on the other. Amanda looked up at him, noticing unexpectedly his striking blue eyes and his nicely cut dark brown hair. She noticed for the first time that he was quite tall, and, aware suddenly at the way he was looking at her, swiftly looked away.

"How are you liking the internship?" Peter asked, folding up the now empty paper sacks.

Amanda, bouncing on her heels, forced a smile. "Oh, it's been enlightening, to say the least. Working with you and Marcus has been great experience so far." She looked around the empty room. "Where is everyone, anyway? I would have thought you would have already started in here by now."

"Lunch was delivered to the dining hall from in town. Everyone's in there right now, stuffing their faces. I'll take you." He shuffled her to a swinging door, placing his hand at the small of her back. "You're probably hungry, aren't you?"

Amanda let him lead her out of the kitchen and into the adjoining butler's pantry. Filled with silver and china sets, it was a large room that was longer than it was wide and she gingerly moved out of Peter's grasp to let him ahead of her walk as they approached a second swinging door.

Peter gave her a curious glance when he pushed the door open but motioned her to go ahead of him. She entered the dining hall to find that most of the crew were already seated at a large dining room table, eating. A large buffet table was pushed against a wall and arrayed with a various selection of food where a few people were standing in line to fill their plates. Marcus and Alicia were standing at a back corner, plates in hand, deep in discussion.

They approached the buffet table together, each taking a plate. Glancing around, Amanda asked, "Where are all of the models? Aren't they hungry, too?"

Peter picked up a turkey sandwich and moved to a large bowl of salad. "This kind of spread is beneath them. They're in the great hall with their salads and tofu."

"Do you ever get to talk with the models outside of the actual shoots?" Amanda asked as she picked out her sandwich and moved with him down the line. "It seems like the two groups are distinctly separated all of the time. Last night for dinner, separate lodging, now lunch. Do you ever have time to just relax together, you know, maybe get to know each other?"

"At the end of the entire shoot, we'll have a party here, probably a pool party or maybe something more formal as a celebration but otherwise no, not really."

They turned away from the food and moved toward the dining table. As they made their way, Amanda became aware of Lee slipping in through the door that led to the hallway. He gave her an imperceptible nod as moved to talk with Alicia and Marcus before making his way to the buffet table to assemble a plate of food for himself.

Sitting down, Amanda asked Peter, "How about the rest of the crew, Peter? Do you know the any of them outside of these photo shoots? Do you do other projects together?"

"Well," Peter said through a bite of sandwich, "We don't usually work together outside of the shoot, no. Some of us followed Alicia from previous projects when she branched out to Rebekkah's Fantasies. She's got a pretty loyal following."

"Is she that good to work for?" Amanda inquired, forking up a bite of potato salad. "Marcus acted as if she isn't so great."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Marcus is an eternal complainer. He'd never admit how good he has it. I guarantee you that his other projects are nowhere near as lucrative as this one."

"So, he's never invited you on his other projects? I mean, how do you know?" Amanda pressed, "Do _any_ of you ever work together? It seems like you and Marcus get along well enough even though he complains…?"

"Well," Peter swallowed down a large bite of sandwich. "He doesn't tell me much, but Michael talks about their projects sometimes."

"Which one's Michael again?"

He nodded down the length of the table to a curly-haired broad-shouldered man eating alone. "That's Michael. Michael Cauffman."

Amanda studied the large man for a moment before turning her attention back to Peter. "That guy helps Marcus out on other jobs?"

"I guess I don't actually _know _that for a fact, but Michael has complained that he hasn't gotten paid for something they worked on a while ago." He took a drink from his can of cola. "But, enough about that. Tell me some more about you."

Surprised by the change of subject, Amanda sputtered awkwardly, "Oh…uh…"

***BREAK***

Lee's senses went on high alert the moment he walked into the dining hall. First of all, the sight of Amanda being all chummy with the back-up photographer, Peter, raised his hackles. He didn't like how the guy was all over her, pulling her chair out, _talking_ to her. He didn't like it. Not one bit.

Especially when she threw her head back and laughed at something the little creep had said.

And then there was Marcus. He stood talking with Alicia, relaxed and acting as if he hadn't just sent Amanda on a mission to collect a hefty sum for some rolls of film.

Things were starting to stink.

***BREAK***

Once lunch was through the crew moved their equipment into the kitchen and began to set up for the next location. While the crew did so, Amanda found a moment to put the envelope of cash into Marcus' bag and signal to him that she'd done so.

He gave her a thumbs up but continued working on setting up his tripod and readying his camera.

Miranda was assigned as model for the first part of the shoot and was awaiting direction. Amanda worked closely with Peter to arrange bakeware and the various food items she'd purchased around the island and small kitchen table. He gave her tips as they went about: things like camera angles and focus, how to take advantage of a room to make it appear larger or more intimate and so forth.

She was relieved that Lee was not among the observers as they set up and therefore, she was able to concentrate on her tasks without worrying he was analyzing her every movement. Because she knew that's what he would be doing.

And she definitely did not need Lee Stetson looking down his nose at her work in _this _environment.

***BREAK***

Lee asked to use Alicia's office to make some calls as soon as he was through with his lunch.

He needed first to check in with Billy. He'd requested earlier to have Fielder travel to Nicole Ashby's parents' home in Pittsburgh and then to her apartment in New York to poke around a little. No doubt Fielder would come up empty, but Lee had to be_ sure_ Nicole hadn't just decided to head back to New York and not tell anyone.

His final call would be to Sheriff Rawlins at the local police station. He hadn't wanted to keep Amanda waiting and so he'd gotten in and gotten out in of the station in under five minutes. Lee had barely had time to introduce himself, give the plate numbers, and beg for the Sheriff to put a rush on the film. A follow up was necessary.

Thankfully, Alicia left him to his own devices at the door of the office and he didn't have to deflect her advances. Ensuring first that he was in fact alone, he picked up the receiver and dialed Billy.

"Melrose," Billy barked into the phone after a half a ring.

"Hey, Billy," Lee said. "Any news from Fielder?"

"Hasn't found anything. The parents are alerted and they're fully cooperative."

"Damn. I wasn't holding out much hope, but still…" Lee rubbed his temple. "Amanda's drop yielded ten grand."

Billy whistled. "Ten big ones, huh? For a handful of film?"

"Yeah, look, Billy…" Lee paused. "I had Amanda go ahead and give the money to Marcus but I don't like it. I haven't connected why he would have Amanda do the drop. It made more sense until the cash came into play. Now, I don't know. Something just seems off somehow. Why would he trust someone so new to the game to pick up that kind of money without vetting her first?"

"You're right, Scarecrow," Billy allowed. "Was there anything off about the drop? Was it secure, did you see anyone else lurking?"

Running a hand through his hair, Lee blew out a breath. "That's just it, Billy. It was easy. Too easy. One guy. One car. No one else around, unless you count a housewife with her kids and some retirees. Nothing to it."

"Okay," Billy replied, "Look, I did tell you that if you didn't find something within thirty-six hours, you should come back, but you've found something. So, you stay. Keep Amanda in your sights and keep Marcus on a tight leash. Have you been able to determine if anyone else on the location is involved?"

"Yeah, that chump back-up photographer," Lee grumbled. "He's been hanging around Amanda."

"Marcus?" Billy sounded confused.

"No, Peter. Peter McHugh. Marcus is the head photographer; Peter is his second," Lee explained. "Alicia asked Amanda to assist the two of them, so she's been spending most of her time with one or both of them."

"So, what's the problem with McHugh? You didn't mention him earlier."

"He never leaves Amanda's side!"

"Isn't that what he's supposed to be doing?" Billy asked, not sounding convinced. "I mean, she _is _an intern for a photography shoot, Lee, and he's a photographer. What else about him is suspicious?"

"Just…" He knew he sounded petty, but he couldn't help it. "I just…don't like him."

"Well, just because you don't like someone doesn't make him guilty, Lee."

Lee grunted.

"Keep your eyes forward, Scarecrow, and don't get distracted. We've got a missing girl whose life may be counting on it. Stay focused and quit worrying about who is paying too much attention to Amanda. That's her specialty. People pay attention to her. It's why I sent her there in the first place." Billy paused a moment before adding firmly, "There isn't room for this to get personal, Lee."

Lee tightened his grip on the receiver and closed his eyes. Billy could see right through him. "Yes, Sir."

* * *

A/N: Reviews are welcome and savored! Thank you for taking the time to read this yarn of mine!


	11. Chapter 11

Happy Thanksgiving week to those of us in the Americas!

* * *

Chapter 11

Calls concluded; Lee exited the small study and headed to the kitchen where he knew the shoot was in progress. Models and crew were scattered throughout the house, busy enough with their own tasks that they barely gave him a second glance. Wanting to be noticed, however, Lee made a point to greet a few of those who passed him and even asked one person for directions to the kitchen.

He slipped through a side door and soundlessly stepped to the back of the kitchen, taking care to not distract the work going on around him. Marcus stood behind his camera while crew members hurried about setting up lighting and props.

Lee's eyes found Amanda by their own volition. He watched her with increasing fascination. Unlike earlier, she was now _showing _the models how to pose. Sitting on the counter, she placed a hand on either side of her, thrusting her chest forward and throwing her head back to expose her pearly white throat. It was obvious she was encouraging Enrico step between her thighs and place his hands on either side of her. Stunned, Lee watched, transfixed, as she placed a hand on Enrico's forearms and inched her fingers up to his biceps. Just as Lee was about make himself known with an embarrassing objection, Amanda slid out from between the counter and Enrico, motioning for Miranda to move in to take her place.

Loud, sultry music pumped through loud speakers overhead likely to help set the mood. But for Lee, the mood music was unnecessary. It wouldn't have mattered if it would have been stone-silent and thirty degrees in the kitchen. He was more than warm enough and he shifted, wanting more than anything to stop seeing what was presently causing a tightening in his lower half and triggering his pulse to race wildly.

And it wasn't from the model's outfit, pose, or look that was causing that primal reaction, either.

Oh. My. God. It was Amanda.

A cold sweat broke out unexpectedly across his brow and he suddenly felt very light-headed.

***BREAK***

They'd been at it for more than forty minutes before Amanda realized Lee was there, observing the photo shoot from the back of the room. Ridiculously, for some reason, once she noticed him, she became abnormally self-conscious and shaky.

Irritated by her involuntary reaction but knowing there was nothing she could do about it, Amanda asked Peter to help her with the next few poses. She took great care to not meet Lee's intense gaze, keeping her eyes downcast as she fumbled with the prepackaged pie she had purchased earlier in town.

The pie finally unwrapped, Peter grabbed it out of her hands and took it to the island where the models were now posing over a mixing bowl filled with flour, simulating a baking project.

She ignored the heat of Lee's eyes boring into her back as she moved out of the shot and behind Marcus and the camera.

Peter moved back to join them, saying to Marcus as he approached, "We should be about ready for another outfit or model change."

Marcus nodded, looking down at the read out on his camera. "It's about time to switch out my film anyway. Let me just get these last few shots and we can stop for a bit." He called out directions to the models and quickly snapped the last of the pictures before he announced the break.

Amanda glanced at her watch, surprised to see how the time was creeping steadily into the late afternoon. Reluctant to remind anyone of the third and final scheduled shoot for the day, she hesitated before asking, "Are we going to have enough light for the stable fantasy?"

"We'll likely have to postpone that one until the morning." Peter glanced out of a window. "We still have enough work in here to make it through the rest of the day. Set up in the stables will take too long. I'll talk to Alicia and we'll get the crew to focus on set first thing in the morning." He gave Amanda a wink. "That means we'll probably get to sleep in. I'll go talk to Alicia."

Peter shuffled off while Amanda moved closer to Marcus. Barely audible, she murmured, "I put the package in your bag, just like you asked, Marcus."

Switching out the film in his camera, Marcus shook his head and said very quietly, "Not here, Amanda. We'll talk later."

She ducked her head self-consciously and nodded her head in agreement.

***BREAK***

Lee watched with intense displeasure while Amanda chatted enthusiastically with Peter over a can of whipped cream. He could just imagine her explaining how one could use said cream to stimulate one's partner. Now she picked up the pie and gestured wildly; likely going on about the ironies of the type of pie – _CHERRY OF ALL THINGS! – _and how to use it effectively in their shot.

The man was blatantly flirting with her and Lee did not like it. Not one bit.

Arousal and being strangely freaked out about it was new to Lee. He'd never defined his attraction to Amanda but now that he had….

He'd always recognized that she was a beautiful woman. In her own way. _No, _Lee admitted, _not in her own way. She just was beautiful. Period. _Sure, she sometimes made bad choices with haircuts and sweaters, but overall, she was gorgeous. That fact would never change.

And other men usually drew that conclusion as well. How many assignments had they been on when out of nowhere men suddenly were flocking around her? It was a nuisance, and Lee always hate that it would put a crimp in their missions. He'd have to usher her away from all of the attention and shoo the obnoxious men firmly away from her so they could keep focused.

Well…that's what he'd always told himself he was doing, anyway.

He'd always boxed up the knowledge of her beauty and appeal and moved it over to a place far in the depths of his mind, where he couldn't reach because she was_ Amanda_. Untouchable. Someone he would not allow to become more than a friend because, well, she meant too much to him. Amanda was the best partner he'd ever had. She knew things about him that no one else did and still kept her loyalty to him. He didn't want to mess it up.

But now that box, the one he'd shoved far away and double-taped with the duct-tape of his mind, had been split open and was trickling out into all of his thoughts and would not be contained. There was no denying it now.

He was attracted to Amanda. She was his best friend and Lee found her irresistible and alluring as hell.

Well, shit.

***BREAK***

He broke out of the kitchen as if he'd run a marathon, tugging hard at his too-tight tie and hauling a hand through his hair at the same time. And he ran straight into Alicia.

Damn it. She was the last person he wanted to see.

Spreading on his wide Scarecrow smile, Lee straightened up and cleared his throat, attempting to recover his composure. "Hello."

She studied him quizzically, obviously surprised by his bursting so inelegantly into in the hall. "Everything all right?"

He nodded too eagerly and said dumbly, "Oh yeah, everything is great." He hitched his thumb toward the kitchen door, "Just thought I'd…ah…"

Alicia nodded, understanding dawning, her eyes darting from him to the door to back at him. "Oh, I see…is it getting a little too hot in there for you to handle?"

_You have no idea. _He straightened his jacket and buttoned it. "No, oh…no, it's…I just…"

Coyly, Alicia looked him up and down. "You know, I can help you with that problem, Lee."

_Oh, God! Get this woman away from me!_ Lee stepped back but said as kindly as he could, "Now, Alicia, don't you have work to do?"

She reached out and stroked his arm. "I could be persuaded…"

Lee had to fight from recoiling from her touch. "Uh…you know, I just realized, I need to follow up in town with some leads for my documentary." Supremely relieved he actually _had_ an errand to run, he lowered voice to add, "the pictures should be about ready at the station."

She folded her arms and gave him a doubtful look, but finally gave in by nodding and saying, "You better go then, and I'll see you this evening. I'll drop by your room, say around eight?"

***BREAK***

Being so late in the day, the decision was made to delay the stable shoot due to the issue of poor lighting. They were now officially behind schedule but Amanda silently cheered when Alicia made the announcement. The next day would be packed. Once the stable fantasy was completed, they would immediately move to the pool for a 'pool party' shoot. Last on the list for the next afternoon would be the bedroom fantasy. Every single one of those locations gave Amanda heart palpitations. Just thinking about getting through them with Lee present gave her a cold sweat.

The rest of the day consisted finishing up the kitchen fantasy, cleaning up, and then surveying the stables with Peter. She was more than ready for this day to be over. Her head was swimming. She couldn't wait to get to her room at the B and B to decompress.

This mission was beginning to feel never ending even though she had only been working undercover for one full day. Postponing the stable shoot meant there would be time to recoup her sanity from the day's office and kitchen fantasy. Maybe, just maybe, she'd make it through tomorrow's shoot without further mortification. Ideas for the stables would have to be her focus when she got to her room this evening, she thought glumly. Forget the actual _mission,_ her assignment was to come up with as many risqué scenarios as possible.

It was quite possibly the most bizarre task she'd ever been asked to complete in the name of 'national security.'

The reality was that she just wanted to curl up in a ball and not come out of her room until the whole thing was all over.

Finally, _finally, _they were all climbing into the van and heading into town.

Now that she'd gotten to know more of the crew, the ride wasn't as awkward as it had been the night before. She'd purposely chosen a seat next to the looming form of Michael, since Peter mentioned earlier the possibility of the large man working with Marcus, in the hopes of starting up a conversation. Unfortunately for her, Peter sat on the opposite side of her so that she was sandwiched between the two men. Before she could attempt to even say a hello to Michael, Peter was off on a ramble, explaining to her the importance of variety during the photo sessions. There needed to be plenty of shots to work with throughout the entire year, he told her. Not only did Rebekkah's Fantasies release their own catalog, they had billboards and ad-placements in various magazines these shots would be used for.

She listened with a half-ear, attempting more than once to find a way to include Michael. There was no opportunity, however, as Peter rolled from one topic to another without hardly giving her a chance to do more than nod and murmur yes or no's.

A pizza parlor was picked this time for dinner. Dog-tired, Amanda followed the group inside and sat next to Peter and across from Marcus, just as she had the evening before. Michael sat a few seats down, and she gave up on the idea of speaking with him at all tonight. It just would have to happen naturally or it wouldn't happen.

Because it was pizza, there was no need for her to look at a menu, but when the waitress came around, Amanda ordered a beer on tap and took a deep chug once as it was placed in front of her.

She bit back a choking cough and Peter, who was nursing his own beer, raised his eyebrows when she caught him staring. She gave him a chagrined smile and shrugged. "It's a little bitter."

The beer sparked her energy and reminded her to be on high-alert. She took a smaller sip of her beer, set it down and tried to concentrate. If Marcus had additional help from Michael with whatever his scheme was, after hours was when, she knew, he would tip his hat.

***BREAK***

Five rolls of film yielded sixty pictures in all. Lee laid each of them out across his bed and examined them one by one.

More than half of the pictures had been taken during actual photoshoots: models in the conservatory, the garden, and the billiard room. But the others were very candid shots taken in the hallways and common areas of the mansion. One thing was the same throughout each, however: the focus of each picture was only of women. Not one of the male crew members or even the lone male model was to be found in the lot.

There were pictures of a couple of the female crew hands, a few of Alicia, and a number of Amanda. When these pictures had been taken was anyone's guess, but those of Amanda had to have been taken within the two-hour period from she had arrived and toured the mansion with Alicia to the time the group had left for dinner the day before.

Lee picked a photograph of a close-up of Amanda and examined it closely. It was out of focus and seemed to have been taken from a point-and-shoot-type of camera and not from a professional lens. It captured her with the butler in the grand foyer, and looked as if it had been taken when she'd first arrived.

He set it that picture back down and moved to the next image. This one showed Amanda walking down a corridor, talking to someone to the left of the shot. All Lee could make out was the arm of the other person, whom he assumed must be Alicia.

The other pictures were impromptu shots of female crew working on the differing sets around the mansion.

This case was getting stranger by the moment.

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A/N: Thank you for taking time to read and if you have the time, review! Cheers!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my shenanigans. Enjoy ;)

* * *

The pizza parlor had started to fill up with people and was becoming quite noisy. Half of the crew had, while waiting for their pizza, left the table to play pool or darts in the back.

Which left Amanda with some freedom to speak with Marcus alone _except _for the fact that Peter had planted himself in the seat beside her. Not wanting to be rude, Amanda patiently answered each of his questions regarding her previous experience, where she lived, and what her goals were moving forward.

He was very sweet and maybe a _little_ bit her type—if she would have been interested. But, really, he was _not _what she wanted to be dealing with right now.

What she really wanted was to talk with Marcus _alone_ but the opportunities were so rare. He hadn't even confirmed the receipt of the envelope of money she'd placed in his bag that afternoon. She wanted a chance to ask what more she could help with, and hopefully find out if Michael was really working with him. There was no way she could that with Peter sticking to her like glue.

It seemed Marcus lost his patience as well when he finally stood up. "I think I'll go play some pool with Michael."

Her heart sped up. _This _was what she was waiting for. She cast a slide-long glance over at Peter, who was still sipping his near-full beer. "Uh, Peter? I think I might join Marcus and Michael for some pool, too."

"Oh, do you enjoy pool?" Peter asked eagerly, pushing his beer away and standing up. "You're sure full of surprises. Let's go."

_Oh, brother. How can I escape him politely?_

***BREAK***

A knock on his door came twenty minutes later. Looking at his watch, Lee crossed the room and swung the door open widely.

Alicia stood on the other side of the threshold. Though she had change out of her power suit into jeans and a sweater, she still had the look of authority that she'd carried throughout the day. Before he could invite her in, Alicia flounced through the doorway and into his room. He heard her sharp intake of breath as he shut the door, and when he turned, he found her gaze frozen on the spread of photos laid out across his bed.

"This isn't possible!" She exclaimed, picking up one and turning to fling in Lee's face. "This…this is just unacceptable!"

He put his hands up to calm her, gently tugging the photo from her fingers. "I know, it's very strange, Alicia. We're working on it."

She pinched the bridge of her nose and turned back to the bed. "These aren't even…what I thought they would be!"

Lee stepped next to her and looked down at the photos with her. "I'm going to need a list of all your on-site female staff. And any of those that were supposed to be here and couldn't make it. And also, I need a list of interns or…anyone else who would have been onsite at any point this week."

She nodded hollowly before leaning down to better inspect the pictures. "The location of these …" she glanced up at him. "They wouldn't have been easy to take. And the quality isn't near what I would expect from a professional camera—even these ones of the Michelle," she pointed out one of a model laid suggestively across a pool table. "That's a garbage shot, Lee."

He picked the print up to inspect it closer. He shrugged. "Looks like she's selling what you asked her to, Alicia. How can you tell?"

"The lighting is all wrong, the focus isn't crisp. Look, I could go on, but the fact is that these are all crap shots." She folded her arms and looked at him pointedly. "What is Marcus playing at?"

"With the money he's collecting, I think it's some kind of black-market trade, Alicia."

"Black market trade?"

****BREAK****

Peter was driving her crazy. When she'd gone to the pool table, he'd followed. When she'd tried to join a game of darts, he'd insisted on being on the opposite team.

The entire evening was a bust.

Eventually, the pizza had arrived, had been eaten, and the crew had piled back into the van.

It was only a five-minute ride to the bed and breakfast, and Amanda practically ran into the house to get away from him.

"Hey, Amanda, wait up!"

Closing her eyes and praying for patience, Amanda swiveled around with as warm a smile as she could muster, preparing to find a quick reason to get away from Peter.

But it was Marcus, slinging his blue duffle bag up onto his shoulder, speed-walking to catch up to her.

"Oh, Marcus!" She turned to walk with him further into the house. "I was wondering if we'd get a moment to talk tonight."

"Yeah, uh, look. I wondered if you might be able to…uh…" he stopped and hoisted the bag further on his shoulder. Lowering his voice, he glanced around before saying, "Can you help me out again tomorrow? First thing?"

"Yeah, yes. Of course!" Amanda bounced on her heels and rubbed her hands together anxiously. Maybe the whole night wasn't a complete waste after all. "Same time?"

***BREAK***

Lee ushered her into his room with barely a glance.

As soon as the door was shut, Amanda swiveled on her heel and said, "He's asked me again. I'm meeting him in the morning. Again."

"Again?" Lee moved around her to the bed, picking up a photograph and thrusting it toward her. "Amanda, I don't think that's a good idea. Look at this."

She cast a furtive glance at him before taking the photo from his outstretched hands. She inspected it and handed it back. "Well, we knew it wouldn't be pictures of the scenery, Lee. What did you expect to find on that film?"

"Well, I suppose…" a bit dismayed at her indifference, Lee snatched back the snapshot and examined it himself. After a moment, he swept his arms toward the photo-lined bed. "But look, Amanda, there are a fair amount of you in these shots."

She moved to the bed and looked down. "Okay, well, it looks like Marcus has a thing for voyeurism. It's creepy but that's why we're here, right? To get to the bottom of the whole thing." Amanda reached down and straightened of few of the shots before looking up at Lee. "It is interesting that he was able to get these shots of me in the short amount of time I was there yesterday."

Flabbergasted, Lee placed his hands on her shoulders and frowned, shaking her gently. "How can you be so calm about this? He took those pictures without your knowledge, Amanda."

"I know," she replied firmly, not looking at him. In a nervous gesture, she smoothed his tie in her hands.

"Doesn't that worry you?"

"Yes," she replied so quietly he might have missed it if he hadn't been watching her so closely. Clearing her throat, she pulled away from him to inspect the photos again. "What do you think he's doing? Selling these pictures? They aren't that good, frankly."

He moved next to her and surveyed the shots with her. "That's what Alicia said, too."

Sharply, she replied, "Oh? What else did Alicia say?"

Choosing to ignore her implied tone, Lee answered, "Just that these are crap shots."

"Well, they are. Crap shots."

He stared down, unblinking. "Huh." After a moment, he shook his head. "Well, anyway, to answer your first question, no. I don't think he's selling these pictures."

"Well, what then?"

Instead of answering, Lee asked, "What did Marcus say _exactly_ about Alicia wanting to get into the adult-film industry?"

"Um, well," she kneaded her hands together, thinking back. "He said Alicia was trying to break into the industry, and that she is trying to bring her models into it. That she's trying to 'top' herself, I'm sure that's what he said, and that there is a lot of money in it. He made it sound as if Alicia wants the money."

Lee scratched his chin in thought. "I don't think its Alicia who wants the money. I think he's throwing you a line." He pointed down at the bed. "This looks like the beginning of a dossier of women to choose from, Amanda, to whoever is the highest buyer. "

Worriedly, Amanda said, "This wasn't all of the film, Lee. Marcus could have taken pictures of every female on the location. And this morning's drop couldn't have been the first time he exchanged film."

"Exactly. He's offering every one of you up for sale."

She moved away from the bed and over to the window, not saying anything. Lee followed her and gently turned her to face him, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm not so calm anymore, Lee." She looked up intently and met his gaze. "Do you think that he kidnapped Nicole and sold her?"

He considered her question. "Possibly."

"But she _called_ Alicia and told her she wouldn't be back. How would Marcus have gotten her to call and say that?" She stepped closer into him and placed her hands on his chest, fingering his jacket lapels, not looking at him.

"I've been thinking about that," Lee said, unconsciously running his fingers up and down the fabric of her sleeves. "Listen, Amanda, has Marcus said anything, has anyone else acted as if they're involved? Perhaps someone else he works with closely," Lee paused a moment before adding flatly, "like Peter?"

"Peter?" she laughed. "No, definitely not Peter. I spent the evening with the two of them, and Marcus took no chances. He didn't bring the film up at all, and it was because Peter was there."

"You spent the evening with him?" The hint of jealousy was obvious and he just smiled stiffly when she met his gaze. "You, ah…you learn anything about him? Those two _are _the photographers."

Amanda jerked her head to the side and replied, "Oh, Peter's harmless, Lee."

Lee waited, but when she didn't add more, he asked, "Care to elaborate?"

"Oh, Lee, there's nothing to elaborate about. Peter is a sweet guy who means well. He and Marcus barely said anything to each other all night, and easily could have if they'd wanted to. Or had reason to."

Lee dropped his hands and pulled away from her. Not trusting his face to not give him away, Lee turned to the window, pulling the drape aside to look out to the ground level. "So you don't think Peter is involved, huh? You're certain?"

"Well, we were at the table, just the three of us, for a good fifteen minutes and Marcus kept the conversation very neutral. There's no way."

"Okay." He still didn't like the guy. He turned back to look at her and said stubbornly, "But what if you're wrong?"

Amanda just as stubbornly folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not wrong, Lee, he's not _involved._"

"Fine, he's not involved."

"But he _did _share a tidbit today, Lee. I've probably spent the most time with Peter—"

"Clearly."

She ignored his interruption. "—and we've had some time to talk. I asked if anyone ever works on projects outside of Rebekkah's Fantasies together—and guess what? Marcus and _Michael _have. Peter told me that Michael's complained about not getting paid for some work they'd done a while back. Now, didn't you say Michael was the guy who left Nicole at Kmart the night she left?"

Lee's attention was piqued and he responded with growing enthusiasm, "Alicia told me that it was Michael who dropped Nicole off at Kmart but by the time he came to pick her up, she had called a cab to take her to the airport. Now, I had Billy do some digging, and there were no flights with her name on the manifests for any flights out of Denver. She didn't leave Colorado by plane. Frankly, I don't think she left here by her own free will. If Peter is telling the truth…I wouldn't be surprised if she never even made it to the store."

"You think Michael took her? Where?"

"I'm not sure. But it's got to be somewhere nearby or Michael wouldn't have been back before he was missed. And if my hunch is right, then it's at least Marcus, Michael and the man you met this morning who are involved. By the way, Sheriff Rawlins was able to run those plates on that car this morning. Stolen."

"Stolen?" She repeated hollowly.

"Yeah, but I was able to identify the guy." Lee turned once again to face her, feeling more in control now. "I was able to get a snapshot of him with you in that snack bar. The sheriff ID'd him as Jimmy Edmund, a laid-off pipefitter who doesn't have enough money to get home to Oklahoma."

"Pipefitter?"

"Yeah, Rawlins said these construction hands come up a lot from the South and sometimes get fired for drugs, failing competency tests, that kind of thing. But when it happens, they usually get stuck in town until another company hires them. He's assuming that's what this guy is probably doing. Oil field workers float around the country, and land where ever someone will hire them. It would be easy for someone like that to blend in and not look suspicious."

"Do they know where he's staying?"

"That's just it. He's not registered at any of the motels in town; he hasn't rented a place out, at least not under his name. Now that we know he's involved; the local PD is working on finding out where he's been staying but nothing yet."

***BREAK***

Seeing those pictures rattled her more than she was letting on. It was never a good feeling to find that someone had been watching you unawares and it was definitely disturbing her.

Amanda moved back to the window, vacantly staring out into the darkness. She didn't look at Lee when she asked, "How many rolls of film did you leave in that envelope for Jimmy to develop?"

"Half of them. Five rolls."

"So, five rolls of film that could be more professional shots or more candid shots of whoever else was in that house." She hugged herself, running her hands up and down her arms. "No one is safe, Lee."

Without warning, Lee's wrapped his arms around her and he rotated her gently into him. He tucked her head under his chin, a hand resting at the nape of her neck. She sighed, fighting a sudden urge to wrap her arms around him to pull him closer. Instead, she stayed still and enjoyed the warmth of his arms around her.

"Hey," he said, his voice husky and muffled above her. "We're going to find these bastards before anyone else gets hurt."

She felt him kiss the crown of her head and her eyes popped open in surprise. Before she had time to think about it, however, Lee had pulled back, his hand on either side of her and was looking down at her. "We'll have to be very careful tomorrow."

All business, Lee began laying out how he wanted the morning to go and Amanda didn't have time to dwell on his affection until much, much later.

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A/N: Thank you for reading. I really appreciate. If you have time, I would love some feedback via reviews. No one in my real life knows I write beyond my husband and so you all are it. :) Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13

The next morning, Amanda met Marcus the same as before on the back porch of the B and B. She took yet another package of film with the promise of being in the Kmart snack bar no later than ten. When Marcus led her back inside to the rest of the group, she was reassured when she caught a glimpse of Lee poking his head around the back of the garage.

The plan would be different this time around—not on Jimmy Edmund's end, but for Lee and Amanda. They would still be at the mansion, attending the photo shoots. But when Amanda left for Kmart, Lee would now be driving himself into town instead of travelling with her in the company van. Driving separately would give Lee the opportunity to follow Jimmy to wherever his hideout was, and the van was much too conspicuous to do that type of surveillance.

The morning routine went by at a rapid pace and before she knew it, Amanda was helping with the setup of the stables shoot. Temporary lighting was installed, blankets and wardrobe were wheeled in on portable hangers, and fresh coffee was set up on a tack room table.

The sun was up but, in the stables, it was quite cool and there was a heavy breeze that gusted through the open doors every so often. All of the models were complaining of being too cold in their flimsy outfits, forcing Amanda to continually be running around to give out and take blankets in between sets. She felt like a glorified babysitter as she kept tabs on things like whose coffee cup was whose.

Running around kind of kept the fact that the stables were not being kind to her and that he allergy medicine was not working out of her mind. She'd begun sneezing her head off the moment she'd walked into the dusty, hay-filled barn. Every time a blast of wind swept through, Amanda's eyes would begin watering and a sneezing fit would overtake her. At that very moment, she was miserably blowing her nose while attempting to coach Jaqueline how to better pose over a bale of hay.

_Now my body is even telling me that I am so out of my element! _she thought dismally, avoiding pitying looks and moving out of the shot.

"Amanda!"

She gratefully turned toward the sound of her name, finding Alicia approaching her. With a sympathetic sweep of her hands, Alicia signaled her to accompany her out of the stables and into the sunlight.

They moved out into the dirt driveway before Alicia stopped to turn to her. "It looks like maybe this isn't such a good shoot for you to be a part of today."

"Oh, no, I'm…. ahh..ahhh…ahhh..choo!" Embarrassed, Amanda attempted to blow her nose quietly before admitting, "Yes, this isn't really working out right now, is it?"

Alicia laughed. "No, no it doesn't seem to be. Why don't we go inside for a bit? Marcus and Peter can handle this one; you can jump back in for the next one in a couple of hours when we move to the pool. That shouldn't bother your allergies too much, should it?"

"Oh, no, no, that won't be a problem at all, Alicia. Thank you."

"Wonderful! I want you to take a look at some of our newest pieces. And then perhaps you can go into town for a last-minute prop pickup if anything inspires you. While you're looking through the garments, I'll speak with Marcus and Peter to see if there is anything they need."

***BREAK***

Lee took his time at the B and B before making his way to the estate. He'd asked Billy to run preliminary background checks on Michael Cauffman, Jimmy Edmunds, and Marcus Tyler; they'd come up empty which didn't' surprise him. Billy ended the call with a promise of a deeper search and a look into any missing persons cases that might tie into a sex-trafficking ring.

By the time Lee finally arrived to the stables, Amanda was nowhere to be found. The photo shoot had started; the models were playing with buckets of water in leather getups, cowboy hats, and boots. But Amanda was not there to direct them into more alluring poses as she had been the day before.

He wasn't sure if he should be disappointed or relieved.

One thing was for certain: it made his job that much easier. He could concentrate.

There was a lull in the photography after about five minutes and Lee stepped over to Marcus, who was digging through a duffle bag beneath the tripod. "Good morning, Marcus. How is the shoot going?"

The photographer swapped the lens on his camera out for a new one. "The lighting is better this morning. It's going fine. The wind is a different story, though." Checking the focus, Marcus stood up and slung the camera strap around his neck. "Look, aren't you supposed to be Alicia's arm-candy for the week? Why don't you go and find her and leave us to our work?"

"Woah, okay," Lee stepped back and raised his hands up in apology. "Sorry, man, I was just being friendly. I can go find Alicia, no problem."

Marcus blew out a breath. "I apologize. It's just we're on a tight schedule here and I have to meet a deadline with three different shoots today. We only got through two yesterday and Alicia isn't happy. And when Alicia isn't happy the job isn't happy, so I don't have time to sit and chat."

"As a man who works with deadlines on a daily basis, I can appreciate that."

A gust of wind blew suddenly through the open doorways, causing some of the lighting to knock to the ground. There were shouts and running feet, chaos ensuing from every which way. Lee moved out of the stables quickly to avoid being bull-dozed, keeping an eye out for Amanda and not looking at all for Alicia.

***BREAK***

"See anything you like?"

Alicia came up behind Amanda, who was fingering the soft silk of a beautiful floor-length robe in the palest of blues. They were in a large dressing room full of racks of hanging lingerie pieces. There were assorted robes, negligees, and bustiers in an array of colors hanging on their assigned rack, stockings and garter belts in boxes, and other various items that Amanda had yet to discover strewn about the room.

"I have to admit, Alicia, the quality of your pieces is in a class of its own."

"Thank you. It's imperative to me that we offer only the most superior of products, regardless if it's for lounging _or_ for play." As she spoke, Alicia pulled out a bright-pink negligee and held it up against Amanda. "This would fit you nicely, Amanda. Do you like it?"

Feeling self-conscious, Amanda looked down the sheer number and said with a laugh, "I'm afraid I wouldn't fill it out like you could. It would probably just depress me."

"Oh, come now," Alicia said in disapproval, "Our products are meant to excite and promote a healthy body image. Wouldn't you just love it if your boyfriend found you in something," she turned back and pushed through the rack, selecting a dark-blue teddy with black-lace trim that was obviously crotchless and open at the breast area, "Like this? He'd give you a night to remember, that's for sure."

"Uh…" Amanda didn't want to admit it, but there was something alluring about the teddy. It _was_ sexy.

"Look," Alicia continued, "These are all brand-new pieces, never worn. I think you should keep this. My gift to you." She winked. "And to your lover. As a thank you for what a great job you've been doing." She pushed the teddy into Amanda's hands even as Amanda began to object, before turning back to the rack. "Let me find the matching robe…aha, here you are!"

Alicia pulled a floor-length robe out and added it to the teddy. Amanda, speechless, clutched the two pieces to herself as Alicia moved around her to produce a gift box with _Rebekkah's Fantasies_ emblazoned on the top. She gently took the teddy and robe out of Amanda's hands and deftly folded and wrapped them in tissue before adding them to the box. She handed the box back to Amanda with a smile. "You'll thank me later, I promise you."

***BREAK***

It was almost time for Amanda to drive into town, and so together they headed to Alicia's office to wait for Lee as well as to get the keys and company credit card. As they left the dressing room, Amanda gripped her newly acquired gift box tightly against her chest as if an onlooker could see what risqué contents were held inside just by glancing at her.

Once inside Alicia's office with the door closed, the two of them began discussing the pictures that Lee had shown each of them the night before. Alicia sat down at her desk while Amanda paced in front of it, box still in hand, conferring about what Marcus was trying to gain by giving the pictures to Jimmy Edmund.

Finally, Amanda sat down. She looked at her watch and grimaced. "Where's Lee? I need to get into town for this drop. He said he was planning to drive himself in this time to tail the guy after the exchange but I don't want to leave until I've talked to him."

The drop wasn't worrying Amanda at all. Since meeting Marcus had been the same as before, the exchange with Jimmy Edmund would be exactly the same as well. Fleetingly, she considered leaving without him but quickly brushed away the temptation. Even though this was supposed to be simple, it was vital that they stick to their plan. If Lee wasn't able to follow the guy after the drop then the whole exchange would be wasted.

There was a knock on the door and Alicia called out, "Come in!"

Lee pushed opened the door and moved inside, quickly closing it behind him. "There you two are. I've been looking all over for the you of two."

He approached the desk around which the women sat, unbuttoning his jacket and taking a seat next to Amanda. He didn't seem to notice when she slid her box of lingerie off her lap, away from him and out of sight. "Are you ready to make the exchange?"

She quickly turned her attention back to him, rubbing her hands together anxiously. "As soon as possible."

"Okay, good. I'll leave right now, and be just inside like before." He stood up and straightened his jacket. "I'll follow Jimmy once he leaves you and see if we can figure out who else is involved."

"Amanda?" Alicia said, standing up and reaching out across the desk. "If you'd like, I can have that package delivered to your room at the B and B."

Amanda looked down to where she had placed the box of lingerie, her face warming. Feeling Lee's curious look on her, she reached down, grabbed the box and slid across the desk. "Uh...thank you, Alicia."

***BREAK***

She gave Lee a full ten-minute head-start before even climbing into the front seat of the van.

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful support.

* * *

Without Lee, Amanda was much more aware of her surroundings heading into town. There were very few cars on the road, even once she passed the city limit sign. It was a very sleepy town, she noted. A lot could happen and locals wouldn't even notice.

Turning into the parking lot, she noted that Lee's rental car was parked close to the front entrance. She parked in the row across from his rental, pulling in so that the noses of the vehicles stared down each other from across the drive. She took care to place the van's keys in the pocket of her skirt and not in her purse, feeling a little foolish but deciding it was better to be safe than sorry. Better to be prepared and keep the keys close to her body in case she needed a quick getaway.

She started toward the front doors but stopped when she realized Jimmy Edmund stood to the left of the front doors. He spotted her at the same time and started toward her.

Seeing this, Amanda glanced around, looking fruitlessly for Lee, knowing with a sinking heart that he was _inside_ of the store, waiting there as he said he would be. There were no other patrons in the lot; she was alone.

She was further alarmed when Jimmy grabbed her roughly by the arm and jerked her around, waltzing her toward a dark sedan in the third row.

"What are you doing? Ouch!" Amanda objected, digging her heels into the pavement.

"Shut up, Lady, you're coming with me!" he growled.

"Oh, no I am not!" She twisted in his grasp, struggling to stomp on his foot or knee his groin.

He merely lifted her up higher, leaving her feet dangling beneath her. Realizing fighting was pointless, Amanda chose at that moment to scream but before she could let out a sound there was nothing but darkness.

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A/N: Reviews are welcome. Thank you!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

* * *

The store was abnormally quiet. Lee made a sweep around the checkouts at front-end but saw no sign of Jimmy Edmund anywhere. The snack bar was also curiously empty of customers. He checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time in ten minutes and knew Amanda should be walking in at any moment. But.

Something wasn't right.

Something just felt _off._

The feeling was heavy in his gut, ominously sitting there like a brick of dread. Not liking the weight of trepidation, Lee hastily made his way to the front doors instead of to a spot in the women's lingerie section to lurk, as he had the day before.

As he approached the sliding glass doors, he saw that his unease was well-founded—_Amanda!_ Heart in his throat, Lee hastily struggled to push through the slow-opening sliding doors in time to watch Jimmy Edmund push Amanda's lifeless body into the back of a black Cutlass Supreme. Before Lee could even process what was happening, the car was screeching out from its stall and heading toward the exit.

_Oh, my God, Amanda!_

Purely on adrenaline, Lee took off on a running sprint after the vehicle. Wrenching his gun from his shoulder holster, he took a wild shot at the car's rear tire but completely missed. The vehicle took a sharp screeching turn out of the parking lot and the driver hit the gas, speeding off, swerving through oncoming traffic.

Knowing it was futile to chase on foot, Lee whirled back around and ran toward his rental, pulling the key from his pocket. He grappled with the door before sliding into the driver's seat. Jamming the key into the ignition, he threw up a silent prayer to be able catch up to the Cutlass and save Amanda. The parking lot was blessedly empty and so he flung the car into drive with little caution, speeding out of the parking lot in the same direction which the black sedan had gone.

It was a damn good thing this was a small town. There were only a few places a car chase could lead in the direction they were headed. There was hardly any traffic and Lee could see the Cutlass about a mile ahead of him. He stomped on the gas and passed a Ford Pinto, not giving its driver a second glance, his focus only on the black sedan with Amanda inside.

Within minutes, the Cutlass had led Lee out of town and onto an old highway that headed toward Denver. No longer worried about traffic, Lee stepped harder on the gas, wishing that force of will could make his car go faster. Amazingly, his car _was_ faster and he found himself rapidly approaching the Cutlass' tailgate.

He took a fortifying breath before he rammed the front end of his car into the back of the sedan. His pistol was in his lap and had almost slipped to the floorboard but he caught it just in time. Rolling his window down, Lee stepped again on the gas as he aimed for the back tire. The Cutlass was faster and zoomed away; Lee's shot hitting the asphalt in a powdery white puff. He squeezed the trigger again but hit the bumper, not causing any major damage.

The third shot was the charm and the tire blew. The car swerved and Lee's heart stopped for a full ten seconds while he watched with mounting fear; panicking the vehicle would roll and Amanda would be thrown out. By some miracle, however, the vehicle came to a stop perpendicular across the road, rubber smoking. Lee threw the rental into Park and jumped out, taking no time to shut the door as he bolted toward the Cutlass, gun drawn.

The driver jumped out, who, Lee saw immediately, was not the man who had met with Amanda the day before. This man had bad acne scars all over his face complete with stringy blond hair. Before Lee could come to terms with that revelation, the back door of the sedan pushed open, and the man Lee recognized as Jimmy Edmund wriggled out with Amanda held tightly against him. She looked terrified but said nothing, her eyes conveying to him her fear. There was a sudden glint that told Lee a knife was being held against her throat.

Jimmy held Amanda tightly against him, her toes barely touching the pavement. He was manhandling her hard enough that she jerked painfully against him, and Lee saw Jimmy's hand tighten around the switchblade. Fury like nothing Lee had ever felt before engulfed him; he tamped it down and stood his ground.

"Let her go and I won't shoot!" Lee yelled; his gun trained on Jimmy's head. There was no other clean shot. He wouldn't hesitate to do it. "You're cornered."

"Ha, cornered by you and what army?" the driver jeered, moving closer to Jimmy and Amanda, pulling out his own weapon. "I think _you _are the one cornered, Mate."

The driver had an Australian accent. Lee kept focused on where his gun was trained, mentally calculating the time it would take to take both men out. It was possible. But there could be no hesitation.

"You know," Lee said conversationally, not lowering his weapon, his rage barely contained, "I don't think you know the definition of cornered."

At that precise moment, Lee heard Amanda give a sharp, painful intake of breath and saw the flash of metal against her throat. Without a moment's hesitation, he squeezed the trigger once, twice, and both men were on the ground. The force of it had Amanda falling backwards to the ground as well; the dead man's blood splattered down the length of her arm.

Keeping his gun aimed on the Aussie, who was only superficially wounded, Lee ran to Amanda, pulled her up and tucked her into him, kicking the driver's fallen gun out of reach. She sank against him, her tiny body shaking uncontrollable as he whispered words of comfort and kissed her temple, not really thinking about what he was doing but just reacting and feeling the overwhelming need to be close to her. Lee ran his free hand up and down her, ensuring himself that she hadn't sustained some injury he hadn't yet seen, all the while keeping one eye and his gun trained on the injured man.

It wasn't long before Lee's attention was taken by the Aussie, who finally began to make noise and was writhing around in pain. Lee squeezed Amanda softly and asked, "Are you all right? I've got to—" he motioned with his gun at the man on the ground and she nodded her understanding, sinking to the ground when he moved away from her.

After one last reassuring look to Amanda, Lee, still infuriated at how quickly things had gotten so out of control, moved to inspect the Aussie's injury. It had been a clean shot to the shoulder: exactly where Lee had aimed. The man glared up at him and Lee gave him a hard smile. "By the way, _Mate_. I _am _the army."

***BREAK***

Lee confirmed Jimmy Edmund was in fact dead from the bullet to his head. The glint of the knife Lee had seen pressed into Amanda's throat was now loosely clasped in the dead man's right hand, a drop of Amanda's blood at its tip. Lee stared at the drying liquid for a long, long minute, tremors of what-ifs coursing through him. Not wanting to touch the knife, he instead toed it out from Jimmy's dead hands and kicked it under the Cutlass, beyond reach.

He turned his attention back to the Australian, who had yet to say anything since being shot. "You move, pal, and I'll blow your head off." The man continued to glare at him. "What's your name?"

When Lee received no answer, he motioned for Amanda to take his gun and keep it trained on the Aussie. He knew she'd be a worthless shot but the Aussie wouldn't know that. It at least would dissuade him from trying anything stupid.

While Amanda's unsteady hand kept the gun pointed in the Aussie's general direction, Lee patted the man down and found his wallet. A driver's license identified him as Thomas Tolman, age thirty-three.

"So, Tommy," Lee said, flipping the wallet closed and throwing it on the ground, "You wanna tell me what you were doing, taking the lady for a ride?" When he got no answer, Lee seriously considered pressing his fist into Tommy's blood-soaked shoulder just to see if he'd get a reaction but refrained. Instead, he unbuttoned the man's shirt, took stock of his injury, and attempted to staunch the bleeding.

Someone in a nearby farmhouse must have seen the commotion and called the police. Not even ten minutes passed before multiple squad cars and ambulances were screeching up to a halt around them.

It was a relief to see the town's authorities swarm around them. Even more of a relief was when Sheriff Rawlins hopped out of one of the squad cars and jogged up to them. Lee once again had taken control of his gun and had an arm around Amanda to keep her upright. The sheriff motioned for his men to take over, quickly cuffing Thomas Tolman and securing the scene.

It was at that point that Lee was able to turn his full attention to Amanda and the small trickle of blood that had already started to congeal about two inches beneath her left ear. He touched it gently, reassuring himself that she really was all right and not badly injured. He inspected the goose egg that was forming at the crown of her head, given to her when Jimmy Edmund has knocked her unconscious in Kmart's parking lot and was heartened by the sight of smooth, unbroken skin beneath her hairline. He ran his hands up and down her arms, thanking God she was okay, hugging her close to him and reveling in the feel of her arms around him.

It wasn't until he was completely satisfied that she was truly all right that he left her, only momentarily, in the hands of an EMT so he could speak with Sheriff Rawlins. With a promise of only being five minutes, Lee stepped reluctantly away from her. He found the sheriff at the Cutlass Supreme, down on his haunches and inspecting the back seat.

The sheriff looked up at Lee from where he was squatting. "I guess that got out of control quickly."

"Yeah." Lee followed the sheriff's gaze into the car's back seat, "It didn't quite go how I'd hoped. What did you find in there?"

Pulling a pencil from his shirt pocket, Rawlins used it to pick a plastic bag up from the floorboard. "Not sure, but nothing good, from the looks of it."

He laid the bag on the ground and used the pencil to push the handles open. Both men peered inside and saw stacked photos, banded together with rubber bands. Lee's stomach turned over. The top picture showed a woman, whom he recognized as the missing model, Nicole. It showed her bound, gagged, and naked.

It was very pornographic and very disturbing.

"I somehow don't think she's enjoying that," Lee remarked, relieved when Rawlins flipped the bag closed.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for your reviews, favorites, and follows. Feedback is always welcome.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

* * *

An EMT checked out Amanda and promised Lee there was no worry of concussion. The medic gave him the go-ahead to take her back to the bed and breakfast as long as he _promised_ she would be put straight to bed.

All pretense of their covers gone was gone when Lee ushered Amanda into his rental. He promised Sheriff Rawlins that he would return to the police station as soon as he got her settled at the B and B. There were reports to complete. An interrogation to be had. Lee wouldn't be able to avoid work for long if they were going to find Nicole.

Not that he wanted to. Avoiding an active case when there was so much at stake was not in his nature.

But at that very moment his priority was only Amanda. When she slid into the front seat and looked up at him, he could see the hollow look in her eyes and knew she was far from okay. He would have liked nothing more than to be able to stay with her but his time was limited. He hated it but that was what he was paid to do. Put his personal wants and desires aside; what most people took for granted he could rarely acknowledge because it would get in the way of work. What he did best.

Arriving at the Locked and Loaded B and B, Lee parked the car and then swiftly jogged around the car to open the passenger door for Amanda. Appreciatively, she smiled up at him when he took hold of her hand to pull her gently up and out of the car. He wrapped an arm around her and led her up the drive to the front door, keeping her closely tucked into him.

It was still only mid-morning—a lot had happened in a short amount of time—and therefore there seemed to be no other guests around. There was only a sleepy-looking clerk who merely glanced up at them as they passed her desk before returning to the magazine she was flipping through. She paid no notice that Amanda was a mess. Dried blood smeared down the length of her sweater; splatters of brain matter flecked grotesquely in her hair. Protectively, Lee hugged her even closer to him, glad for the clerk's disinterest.

The two of them picked their way slowly up the stairs to Amanda's room on the second floor. Halfway up, Lee finally asked if she would like him to carry her but she only laughed and shook her head before sinking further into him as they continued up the stairs. He squeezed her reassuringly into him, reveling in the feel of her body against his; comforted by her warmth.

He couldn't stop thinking about how stupid it was to have had her drive to Kmart alone; how lucky they had been that he'd decided to make a sweep of the parking lot at the precise moment she'd been snatched. How fortunate they were in a small town and he'd been able to track the Cutlass Supreme down within minutes of her abduction.

He'd made an egregious error that could have quite possibly cost Amanda her life and he felt nothing but remorse for that error. And extreme relief that he'd been quick enough to catch up and stop the bastards who had taken her before they'd done anything more than knock her out.

Flashes of the very moment he'd squeezed the trigger and Jimmy Edmund dropped like a stone kept running through his mind on a continuous loop. Amanda's look of complete and utter terror when the tip of that knife had begun to dig into the smoothness of her neck. The sound of her cry was what nightmares were made of. He shuddered.

He'd just reacted out of instinct but the absolute fury he'd felt wasn't something he could completely define, because fury wasn't even the half of it. Seeing her in pain and that close to…death terrified him.

Once to her room, Amanda fumbled with her bag looking for the key. Gently, Lee took the purse from her fingers and fished out the key that was attached to a large brown hotel tag and stuck it into the lock, turning until the tumbler gave a distinctive click. Pushing the door open, they stumbled inside together. He released her long enough to shut the door and lock it behind them.

He turned back to her and pulled her into a long embrace. He kissed the top of her head, breathing her scent heavily into his lungs, fighting back a well of emotion that was threatening to burst. Amanda's arms encircled him and she moved against him, nestling more firmly into the shelter of his arms, perfectly fitting into him.

His fingers feathered her hair back lightly, gently pushing through the matted blood. She sighed and tilted her face up to look at him just he looked down to look at her. He stilled when their eyes met and locked onto one another.

It seemed hours that they stared at one another until Lee broke the spell, turning his attention to the fresh nick at her neck. He fingered it lightly, closing his eyes and taking in a slow, deep breath. It was a superficial wound that hadn't required stitches. It had hardly even bled.

He was beyond relieved.

Amanda reached up and threaded her fingers in his, lowering his hand but keeping a hold of it. When he opened his eyes, she had a sad smile. "It doesn't hurt."

"I'm glad." He returned her smile with his own tentative one. He released her hand and cleared his throat, moving away from her. "You probably want to get cleaned up."

The comment seemed to signal her to the state she was in. She took in the blood-smeared sleeve of her sweater, put a hand vacantly to the tips of her hair, noticeably blanching at the questionable gunk she found there.

"I think I can safely say your sweater is beyond repair."

When she didn't respond, he continued, "I can…dispose of it if you'd like. Just, um, just pile it here by your door and I can find a garbage bag to throw it out in. You don't need to worry about it. I…I have to change, too, and Sheriff Rawlins asked me to go down to the station, so…" She nodded, looking so forlorn in the middle of the room that he felt his heart break a little at the sight of her. "You should get some rest."

***BREAK***

Amanda stared at the door for a long time after Lee disappeared through it.

Her hands were trembling when she finally unbuttoned her sweater and shrugged it off. She wasn't interested in salvaging anything that she had on, especially not that sweater. With little thought, she dropped it where she stood.

Toeing her shoes off, she next pushed her skirt off her hips and left it in a pool at her feet as well. She worked next on her blouse, pausing and regaining her composure multiple times when she found it too difficult to unbutton with her trembling fingers.

Moving to the bathroom, she let the water run for a very long time before climbing into the shower. The steam rose up around her, soothing her, warming her, enveloping her. Her body ached to be wrapped in a warm embrace but her only recourse was to wrap her own arms around herself and let the tears come.

And come they did. She cried and cried, the vapor and condensation serving as permission for her to let out all of emotion in a keening wail that was camouflaged by the creaking pipes and flowing water.

She cried for the humiliation she'd felt over the past two days. She cried for her insecurities, of never asking the right questions and for never feeling prepared. She cried for the terror she'd felt when Jimmy Edmund had pulled her from out of that car. She cried for her own fear of being murdered in such a horrendous way. She cried for the moment of relief she'd felt once she known for certain Lee was coming for her. She cried because she had wanted Lee to shoot, and she cried because she wasn't sorry Jimmy Edmund was dead.

What had happened to her these past two years? Had she become so callous that a man's death no longer affected her? Had she become a machine?

_No. _She reassured herself. She was still Amanda. Though it was true that she learned more every day how to set aside her personal feelings, her value to the agency had always been her ability to empathize, sympathize, and identify with victims and to not treat people like a number. It was by taking a step back and using interpersonal skills to better solve a problem. Sometimes, assignments became too personal but it was okay to allow herself to be human once in a while. It was what made her who she was.

When she'd awaken in the back seat of that car, with Jimmy Edmund shouting nothing but obscenities, she'd felt fear, but it hadn't been abject _terror_. She'd been in enough predicaments to know that there was plenty of time to think of a way out of the situation. And it had become quickly apparent the moment her captors had realized Lee was right behind them.

And it wasn't like she was always waiting for Lee to save her. As soon as she'd come to, she'd taken stock of the back seat, taking note that her door was unlocked. She'd already begun calculating when she should pull the handle and jump when the driver began shouting, confirming that Lee was behind them. She then restructured her plan and stopped plotting her immediate escape, because he was there to help her.

Once the car had skidded to a stop everything was a blur to her: the knife to her throat, the agonizing pressure of the blade, the ferocious look in Lee's eyes. It had seemed as though the gun was pointed right at her, but it was_ Lee_ aiming it and she trusted him implicitly. She knew he would never hurt her and knew she needed to stay as still as possible so that he could do his job.

Lee. God, how she loved and trusted Lee. She hugged herself tighter, tilting her face up into the spray of the water, wishing for Lee's arms to be around her. Imagining him there, with her, she trailed her fingers up to lightly feather her lips, her body aching to be near him; to be touched by him.

It wasn't a revelation of any kind. She'd loved Lee for years now; pretty much from the moment she'd met him. The truth of it had come on slowly, though-something that grew more evident with each passing day. Each passing assignment, actually, because there were days, _weeks_, even, that they didn't even see each other. He'd be on assignment somewhere out of the country, and she'd worry the entire time until he surfaced again. But the fact didn't change that he was her best friend. She loved him. And she would do anything for him.

And, oh, how she wished there could be more between them. _MORE._

She thought of how he'd held her out on that road while waiting for the emergency vehicle to arrive. How he'd not wanted to leave her side until he'd absolutely had to. How he'd held her just now in her room. She'd seen something in his eyes lately; something deeper, something she couldn't quite put a name to. It was almost as if…but she daresn't hope.

She silently rebuked herself for even thinking of Lee in that way. It was only during these weak moments after a near-death experience that she'd allow herself to long for more from him. It was during these times that the truth would burst out and she couldn't contain it as easily as she normally did. Her love for him, her longing for him, only reared its head when she was at her lowest before she would tamp it down and get back to the business of just being his friend.

It was the thought of being _just friends _with Lee that she suddenly became aware that the water raining down on her was now lukewarm. Quickly, she scrubbed herself clean and washed her hair – three times. By the time she had pulled on a robe and dried her hair, Amanda felt marginally improved.

It was time to face the next challenge. It was time to put those personal feelings aside and get back to business. It was time go back to Rebekkah's Fantasies and give Marcus a nightmare.

***BREAK***

The small police department was bustling with activity. It had been years since there had been any serious crime in this part of the state, let alone the town, and the officers were buzzing with activity. This was the biggest thing to happen and probably would be for many years to come. No one wanted to mess it up and therefore all the stops were being pulled out.

Lee moved purposefully through the corridor and met an officer who stood in front of a closed door. The deputy was young, his uniform crisp, barely broken in. The shiny badge at his chest told Lee his name was Deputy Franklin.

Deputy Franklin hitched his thumb toward the door. "Sheriff has Tommy Tolman in there. You're free to go in."

"Gladly." Lee's smile was cold; he was more than ready to play bad cop to Sheriff Rawlins' good cop. This had gone far enough.

***BREAK***

Playing hardball with Tommy Tolman was not getting them anywhere. Sheriff Rawlins had no art in playing good cop _or _bad cop, and Lee found himself irritated with the officer almost as much as with their detainee. He was about at his wits end watching Rawlins fumble through his questioning while Tommy sat across the interrogation table, insolently staring down at a long scratch etched into the top of the wood, not saying a word.

"Tell me, Tommy," Lee asked during a long stretch of silence, leaning against the wall and folding his arms casually in an attempt to appear calm, "Where have you been tying up and torturing women? Where's Nicole?"

The only answer Tommy gave was to take his middle finger and run it along the scratch on the table.

Fighting hard to keep control, Lee bit out, "Damn it, man! Don't you have anything to say?"

Tommy kept his eyes hooded when he looked at Lee and said matter-of-factly, "You don't got nothin' on me, Mate. You can't touch me."

"I think," Lee pushed away from the wall to plant his palms firmly on the interrogation table, leaning across it to glare into Tommy's face, "you're forgetting the small issue of _kidnapping._"

Tommy just gave him a cold stare. "That's on Jimmy. And Jimmy's dead."

Lee wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug smirk right off his pock-marked face. "You just sit there then, and let us take care of what we_ can _touch you with. Because you're an accessory. Kidnapping is a federal offense, Pal. You'll be pleased with the laundry list we have against you, Tommy. From the sounds of it," he stood straight, still glaring down at him, "You're gonna need a lesson on what is and what isn't _illegal_. You're going away for a very, _very _long time once this is over. Guaranteed, _Mate_."

* * *

A/N: Thank you for every follow, favorite, and Review. Also, I couldn't resist the 'daresn't' in this chapter. You all should have gotten a kick out of it. I do.

Thanks!


	16. Chapter 16

Gleaning pretty much squat from Tommy, Lee chose to take a break before he lost control and started railing on the guy. Going for the jugular was no way to impress upon the local police department the professionalism of the Agency's finest agent.

So instead of using Tommy as a personal punching bag, Lee left the interrogation room to find a phone. Dialing the B and B, he asked to be connected to Amanda's room. She answered on the third ring.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"How's your head?"

"Barely any pain at all."

She sounded stronger than when he'd left her, and he was very glad for it.

"We're still sitting with Tommy Tolman. He's refusing to crack."

"Oh," she said, sounding disappointed. "What about Marcus? Or Michael?"

Lee's grip tightened on the phone. "We're going to get them, too. Soon."

"Lee," she said, and he assumed she switched the receiver to her other ear when he heard rustling. "No one at the mansion knows this happened, do they? Have you talked to Alicia?"

"No, I haven't talked to Alicia; she's my next call. But you don't need to worry yourself about it anymore, Amanda. Just relax and let me handle it."

"I _am _worried about it, Lee, because it's all but lunch time…and if they don't know what's going on, Marcus—"

"Amanda," Lee said firmly, "please just stay where you are."

"We can set them up and catch them. I know we can. Meet me there."

When he didn't say anything, she said, "Maybe they can lead us there, you know, if they think something is wrong. If I tell Marcus I wasn't able to drop off the film, he might possibly lead us where they are holding her."

"Amanda, you barely escaped Jimmy Edmund this morning. I don't want you putting yourself-"

"Lee, we're here to do a job, right? How else are you going to catch those two—we know they're both involved. We know they will probably lead us to Nicole. You know that."

She was right and he knew it. "Damn it, Amanda. Fine. Don't do anything without me. I'll meet you there."

* * *

It was easy to talk the desk clerk into taking her to Kmart to pick up the van. Instead of driving back to the B and B, however, Amanda drove to the mansion with determination. It really hadn't been that long since she'd left for her errands; she likely wouldn't have yet been missed.

Her assumption was right on the money. When she walked into the front foyer, the activity was the same as it had been when she'd left. No news, no radio, no television had penetrated the walls. Models were running through the halls in heels and lace, paying no heed to her. After dropping her bag off in the coat room, she moved through the hallways to the back of the house and through the large French doors that led outside to the pool.

That's where Amanda found everyone else – with music blaring overhead, pumping through loud speakers mounted on the corners of the pool house. There was laughter and lots of talking, a very carefree environment considering they were still behind schedule.

The male model, Enrico, stood in the water, between the female models, Michelle and Melanie, who were each sprawled out seductively on their own floating lounger. Marcus stood in his usual spot behind the camera, encouraging poses while Peter stood off to the side with his hands full of bottles of lotion and beach towels. Alicia sat under a large patio umbrella; a legal pad set on a table next to her where she was taking notes.

Amanda looked at her watch. Lee should be here any minute, and she debated momentarily with herself what she should do. She could wait for Lee—but as far as Marcus knew, Lee wasn't involved in any way. So, taking a deep breath, she made her decision and marched purposefully toward Marcus. He hesitated when he saw her, dropping his camera which swung haphazardly from the strap around his neck.

As she drew nearer him, she smiled sweetly and said, "Can we talk for a moment?"

"Uh…" he looked around, and the others shrugged.

"It's time for an outfit change as it is, Marcus," Peter said, coming up beside him, fumbling with his armful of items. "We probably should take five anyway." He smiled down at her. "Hey, Amanda."

"Hey, Peter," Amanda said crisply, not wanting to encourage conversation.

Fortunately, she was spared from small-talk when Alicia called out from her post under the umbrella, "Actually, lunch was just delivered. Something in town caused the roads to be blocked and the caterer was just able to finally get here and get set up. Let's take an hour, people, I'm sure we're all starved!"

"Great!" Amanda said cheerfully, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Just great."

Peter looked between her and Marcus, looking unsure. "I'll save you a plate, Amanda."

* * *

After briefing the sheriff, Lee left the police department and headed directly to the mansion, breaking all posted speed limits. He didn't care, though. It was urgent that he get there before Marcus did anything rash. After Amanda's failed kidnapping this morning, the thought of what potentially could happen to her made his blood run cold.

Sometimes when Amanda made the most sense was when she got into the most trouble.

He was not about to let her get into any more trouble than she had already been in today.

* * *

Marcus and Amanda moved under the awning of the pool house far enough away from the rest of the others so they wouldn't be heard.

"What happened to your neck?"

Amanda's fingers jumped to the fresh nick at her throat as she rounded back to face him. Keeping her features neutral, she leveled a smile at him while pulling her hair against it in an effort to conceal the injury. Under her breath she said, "Oh, this is a gift from your friend."

Marcus looked puzzled. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing." She plastered on a look of concern, preparing for the lie that was about to roll easily off of her tongue. "I'm sorry, Marcus, but your friend wasn't there to meet me." She squinted down at her watch. "That's why it took me so long. He never showed. I waited and waited." She shook her head regretfully. "I wasn't sure what you wanted me to do."

"No one at all was there?" He echoed, glancing around nervously as if to be sure no one was listening, but the fact was that almost everyone had disappeared for lunch.

She widened her eyes innocently. "No, no one."

"Where is the package now?"

"It's in my purse," she motioned across the pool to the French doors, "in the coat room with all of our stuff."

He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "I need to talk to Michael."

"Michael?" She repeated, a flare of excitement coursing through her. "What for?"

"We have an hour," he said, almost to himself. Then he met her eye. "I need the film back."

"Oh, sure, I can go get it for you."

She jumped in surprise when his hand encircled her upper arm. He pulled her tightly against his side, positioning himself just so that an onlooker wouldn't realize Amanda was being forced to walk alongside him.

"Marcus!" She hissed, wrenching her arm unsuccessfully from his tight fingers. It seemed everyone just thought they could do what they wanted with her today. "Let go of me!"

It surprised her when he did, in fact, loosen his grip and dropped his hand. His tone was apologetic when he said, "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Can you go grab your bag and I'll go get Michael? There should be enough time for us to drop that film off right now, I think."

* * *

Lee screeched to a halt at the front steps of the mansion, relieved to see that the van was there but peeved that Amanda was not inside. Of course, she wouldn't have stayed in the car! Why didn't that surprise him? At least the van was a sign she was somewhere nearby.

At least he hoped that was the case. He knew from experience that their plans often escalated and spun out of control.

With that on the forefront of his mind, Lee jumped out of the car leaving the keys in the ignition and rushed up the stairs. Without waiting for the butler to answer, Lee opened the front door but stopped dead when he spotted Amanda walking calmly toward him from a back hall.

Her coloring was still pale, evidence of her earlier experience with Jimmy Edmund. It was also evident that she should be back at the B & B, _resting. _He started to ask her if she was all right, but the question died on his lips when he caught movement coming from further behind her. He locked gazes with her and she shook her head slightly in warning.

Soon the movement revealed Marcus, who had a cruel looking smile on his face when he spotted Lee.

"Ah, Mr. Stimpson," Marcus said, stepping further into view, Michael two steps behind him. "Nice for you to join us again."

Lee couldn't help but notice what a contrast the two men were to each other. Marcus was small, maybe five and a half feet tall, middle-aged, balding with a bad comb-over. Michael, on the other hand, was a looming two-hundred plus line-backer with hands the size of basketballs.

Lee looked between the three of them, assessing the situation. Amanda hadn't stopped walking toward him but suddenly she took a hard left, opening a door and disappearing through it. He watched her curiously before turning his attention back to the two men who had stopped just a few feet in front of him.

"There was a bit of a kerfuffle in town," he told them, not liking the scowl on Marcus' face or Michael's tightening fists. "I got caught up in traffic."

"Traffic, huh? Not what we heard." Michael said stepping forward, cracking his knuckles. "Word is you're a fed."

* * *

A/N: Reviews are always welcome. Thank you for reading.


	17. Chapter 17

The caterers had not only delivered lunch from town: they delivered the news of a crazy car chase involving a handsome federal agent ending in a shooting match out on the old highway resulting in one man dead.

The remaining staff and all of the models were now currently inside the dining room, listening on bated breath as the caterers told the intriguing blow-by-blow account of swerving cars and near-misses with the bad guys.

That, therefore, was why no one saw when Marcus took Lee's gun from his shoulder holster. No one watched him take the package of film from out of Amanda's hands when she reappeared from the coat room, threw her purse back in to that room and forced her and Lee at gunpoint out of the front door. There was no one to stop Marcus from tying their hands tightly behind their backs; no one to notice the time it took for Michael to flip the back seats down in the van. And no one witnessed when Lee and Amanda were forced by gun point to climb into the back of said van.

Now Lee and Amanda were sitting back-to-back, each facing a side window They were low enough that they couldn't see out, unfortunately, which meant no passersby would be able to see them, either. To their advantage, however, was the fact that there were two rows of seats between them and the front seat, where Michael had just slid into the driver's seat and Marcus was sitting shotgun. The two in the front were loudly arguing back and forth about what they were going to do and how they were going to do it and likely couldn't hear much beyond their own voices.

"I'm sorry, Lee," Amanda wailed quietly when she heard the engine roar to life. "This is all my fault. I thought I could get them to make a call, or that Marcus would leave to check on his group. Or lead us to Nicole. I didn't think he would kidnap us! What is it with me today? Everyone thinks they can just take me anywhere they want! I can't believe this."

"Shh," Lee answered even more quietly than she, taking hold of her bound hands with his. He rubbed her fingers in comfort. "This is going exactly to plan."

"What?" she sputtered. After a moment of silence, he felt her body shaking with barely pent-up mirth. "Of course, there's a plan. Why wouldn't you have a plan?"

He squeezed her fingers. "Just trust me, okay?"

She sagged against him. "Always. What do you want me to do?"

They hit a hard bump on the road and Lee's head knocked painfully into hers. "Ouch!"

"Oh, sorry about that!" Marcus called out, looking back and chuckling gleefully. "Did you bruise your ass?"

When neither of them responded, Marcus soon lost interest in them, his attention back on Michael's driving and the road.

* * *

"I have a knife in my back pocket."

Amanda turned her head to hear him better over the noise of the engine. "A knife? Really?"

"Yeah, really. Marcus doesn't know what a pat-down is, thank God."

"Can you reach it? Your hands are right there." She poked at where she knew his hands were and was rewarded when Lee grabbed hold of her index finger and tugged it playfully.

Patiently, he whispered, "Not with the angle they've tied me in. It's too tight and my arms are almost hyperextended as it is."

She shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I'll try. Which pocket?"

"Right." She cautiously began her quest and he jumped as if he'd been goosed. "Other right! My _right! _My right!"

"Oops, sorry!"

Fumbling, she moved this way and that, grappling for a way into his back pocket. She wasn't getting anywhere. "Um…Lean into me so that your pocket is—" she hesitated, realizing with chagrin that she would have to reach down the whole length of the pocket, and that pocket was currently being sat on by Lee's extremely fine tush. She would have to feel him up in order to get to the knife. Lamely, she finished, "Flat. So your pocket is flat."

She felt him stiffen. "What?"

"You're sitting on your pocket, Lee, and there is no way to get into it unless you move!" She whisper-yelled, pushing against him impatiently. "Don't make me say it again. Just do it!"

"Oh...Amanda!" He grumbled but lifted himself just enough so that her fingers could slide between the fabrics and down into the pocket. "Careful!"

After many unsuccessful attempts, Amanda was eventually able to use two fingers to drag the small penknife out. It fell with a thud onto the floorboard between them.

Using his back as support, Amanda groped around before finally picking it up. She attempted to pass it to his bound hands.

He pushed it back into hers. "You'll have to do it, Amanda, I wasn't kidding when I said I'm tied too tightly."

* * *

She was able to cut through both of their bonds and they were free. Choosing to not tip off their captors, however, they left the ropes wrapped around their wrists loosely and stayed back-to back once Lee explained there was an unmarked police car following them.

"After I talked to you and you insisted on going back to the mansion, I asked to Sheriff Rawlins to follow at a safe distance behind me. We're hoping they take us where they're holding Nicole."

"Did you think we'd be kidnapped?"

"Well…no. I'd hoped they would just leave together and Rawlins could do his thing but that's obviously not what happened. Small town gossip travels fast."

"Do you think anyone else at the mansion is involved? Someone at the station? How did they know you were an agent?"

"It's unlikely, really. I only told Alicia the bare minimum about what happened. She doesn't know…about your abduction. Well," he said, his voice lowering, "she didn't. Sounds like everyone knows now. I'll have to have a talk with Rawlins."

She sagged against him. "How are we going to get out of this?"

"We'll be okay." He nodded toward the back window. "These two buffoons are too wrapped up in their own problems to realize they're being tailed."

"That was a good call, having Rawlins follow you," she said approvingly, bouncing her shoulder into his playfully.

He pushed back lightly. "Thanks." He found one of her hands and threaded her fingers with his. "This is going to turn out just fine."

Amanda turned enough to rest her cheek on the back of his shoulder. "I always know that when you're with me, everything will turn out just fine. I'm not worried."

Lee rested his head lightly on hers comfortingly. "We'll get through it together."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the van turned down a long, dusty driveway lined with quaking aspens on each side. The road was rocky and bumpy, causing Amanda to knock into Lee uncontrollably. All of the jostling was beginning to take its toll and she groaned in pain as it sent sharp pains shooting up into her head.

"I still wish you would have let me handle this, Amanda," Lee grumbled under his breath. "You should be back at the B and B, resting. How's your head?"

"I'm fine." She struggled back to a sitting position just as the car came to a stop. "I just want to find Nicole."

"Hopefully, we're about to."

The van pulled to a stop in front of a lone farmhouse. It was large with yellow siding and white trim, a deep, wrap-around porch with a swing in the front. Amanda thought idly that it would have been quaint if there wasn't such a very high possibility Nicole was somewhere inside being held against her will.

Michael jumped out of the driver's seat and rushed around to the back. He opened up the door, gun trained on them.

"No funny business," he warned, grabbing Amanda roughly and pulling her out onto her feet, keeping the gun pointed on Lee.

"Hey, be careful with the lady," Lee snapped testily, "And don't give me a reason for funny business."

Michael pushed Amanda to Marcus, who had come around to join them. She all but fell into his arms, crying out.

Angry, Lee barked in irritation, "What the hell did I just say to you?"

"Shut the hell up," Michael growled, bodily heaving Lee out and onto the dirt driveway. "We can do whatever the hell we want, and you don't get to have a say in it."

Amanda was already being pulled by Marcus up the porch steps by the time Lee righted himself. Michael pulled at his arm, forcing him up the stairs.

Lee carefully tugged at his bonds, making sure they were secure enough to appear untampered with. Looking around, he measured the terrain, calculating the time it would take for the Rawlins and his men to get there and into place.

It wouldn't take long, he estimated. The whole department was on high-alert and were on the ready. Rawlins would have called in every available man, even from neighboring counties. They would be under siege within twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes could be an eternity.

He considered the time it would take to overtake these two clowns. Marcus would be the easier of the two take down, that was a given. He was just a mealy, oily little man who would crumble from the first hit. But Michael was a different story. His size alone put him at an advantage over Lee. At six and a half feet, Michael wouldn't need much encouragement to simply crush his opponent. Lee would have to go after him first; but not too soon. If he attempted at the wrong moment it would put Amanda in jeopardy and Lee wouldn't risk that, not ever.

Michael pushed Lee across the porch and into the house behind Marcus and Amanda. Inside, Lee looked around with rising disgust. While kept up and charming on the outside, the farmhouse was a complete pigsty on the inside. Take-out containers were littered across the floor, open cans of beer strewn about on end tables. It stunk of unwashed bodies, sex, and old-food.

Lee casually asked to no one in particular, "So what's the plan? You gonna shoot us where we stand?"

Marcus came around to shut the door behind Lee and Michael. Unexpectedly, he pushed the muzzle of the gun against Lee's back, forcing him further into the room. Lee moved easily along, keeping tabs on Amanda, who had been shoved into a recliner. She was watching him closely, waiting for his signal.

"Turn around," Marcus ordered.

Lee complied, giving nothing away when he met Amanda's brown-eyed stare, though his insides were roiling with tension. He might not be able to wait twenty minutes for Rawlins.

As Lee slowly turned around and looked down into the smaller man's face, Marcus scowled. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know." Lee shrugged. "I've been told that a time or two." He hesitated, forcing himself from looking back to Amanda. "But, look, Pal, if you are going to kill us, the least you could do is tell us why, right?"

"Oh, there will only be one death today,_ Pal_," Marcus emphasized and motioned toward Amanda, who sat wide-eyed watching them. "She's worth too much and isn't going anywhere except with who bought her."

"Bought her?" Lee repeated, glancing over at her in alarm and then back to Marcus' smarmy grin. "You sold her? Was she for sale?"

The little creep licked his lips, turning Lee's stomach. "She's a high commodity, Man. Fresh for the picking. Touch of innocence with a supple body—"

It took every ounce of will not to pull out of his bonds and deck Marcus' yellow-toothed smirk off of his face.

"Enough," Lee interrupted, furious. "I get it."

"You, on the other hand," Marcus said, his grin becoming wider. "You, I won't hesitate to get rid of. You're nothing but an inconvenience."

* * *

A/N: Thank you. Reviews very welcome.


	18. Chapter 18

It was obvious Marcus was the ring-leader and Michael was the muscle.

And the muscle, unsurprisingly, had just been appointed to 'take care' of Lee.

Lee gave Amanda as reassuring look as he could when he was pushed roughly through the front door and out onto the wrap around porch.

The sun was blinding even under the shade of the porch and Lee squinted, struggling to see beyond the rows of trees. He knew Sheriff Rawlins and his men were somewhere out there franticly setting up, getting ready to pounce. The question was when.

Leaving Amanda inside with Marcus made Lee extremely antsy. She was waiting for his sign, but them not being together was not a good thing—they couldn't play off each other like the often did in these types of situations.

Sometimes if Lee thought about it, he knew it was alarming how often they were in these types of situations. He really should look into getting her some more training.

The only comforting thought was Marcus saying he wouldn't kill her. It was little consolation, however. The pictures that had been confiscated from out of Jimmy Edmunds car was proof that death might be too easy a punishment for some of the women who had been taken. Lee had to fight down the sudden rise of bile from the image that was now burned into his brain of Nicole, naked and chained, looking terrified.

And if Amanda had been sold…who knew what plans were in store for her if Lee didn't get them out of this now. He couldn't count on some small-town sheriff and his inexperienced group of a law enforcement.

"Down the stairs and to the back, you wouldn't want to leave a mess on this pretty deck," Michael growled, pushing Lee along, the muzzle of the gun pressed firmly into his back.

Lee moved down the steps, mind racing.

* * *

Amanda was beginning to get very worried.

She didn't like the way Marcus had sat down across from her and was spinning a large hunting knife expertly in his hands. It brought the unpleasant memory of Jimmy' Edmund's blade pressed against her throat from earlier today, and she shivered involuntarily.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked Marcus meekly, her eyes locked on the revolving blade. "I've never done anything to you. I tried to help you, Marcus."

"Shut up," he told her, standing up and moving around the room restlessly, keeping a tight hold on the dagger.

"Who else have you taken like this?" she pressed. "How many others have been sold? Who's bought me, Marcus?"

He began pacing in front of her, obviously agitated. "Your buyer will be here soon enough and then I can get rid of you."

"Marcus?" Amanda said again, wishing he'd just put down the knife. "Who's bought me? Why did you sell me?"

"Shut UP!" he screamed, wheeling suddenly around and slapping her across the face. "I may not kill you, but I still can do whatever the hell else I want to you."

Tasting blood and seeing stars, Amanda complied and sunk back into the recesses of the recliner in shock.

* * *

Lee heard Amanda cry out from inside the house. And he just reacted.

Pulling himself free from the ropes, he swung around, easily knocking the gun from out of the dumbfounded Michael's hand.

It wasn't often that Lee was the smaller opponent but it was to his advantage this time. Besides the element of surprise, he was faster than the larger man and was able to bounce easily around him. Michael quickly rallied, bringing his fists up in reckless swings. Deflecting him easily, Lee jumped into the flower bed and against the porch skirting, ducking down in time for a blow to crunch into the wood above him. He rolled on his knees, picking up the fallen pistol and swinging himself back up to aim the gun up at the looming figure overhead.

* * *

"What the hell is going on out there?"

Marcus moved to the window to look between the slats of its blinds.

Taking the opportunity, Amanda jumped up, pulled free of her bindings and grabbed the nearest heavy object – a dried up potted plant – and slammed it down with every ounce of force she possessed onto Marcus' unsuspecting head. The small man dropped to his knees, turning to look up at her in utter disbelief that she'd attacked him. His hand loosened its grasp on the large knife, and when Amanda raised the pot and smashed it once again upon his head, it dropped from his fingertips in an almost suspended motion. Shaking, Amanda kicked the knife out of his reach but kept her hold on what was left of the pot, ready to strike a third time.

There was no need because Marcus' eyes rolled back into his head and he fell back, passed out, hitting the sill of the window with a sickening thud and sliding to the floor.

Dropping the remnants of the pot, she moved over and picked up the discarded hunting knife. Taking stock of her surroundings, panting from adrenaline, she considered her options. There would be no guarantee Marcus would be out for long and she would have to move fast to ensure that if he came to, he wouldn't be able to attack her unaware. Loose items, such as empty beer cans, liquor bottles, and clothes were strewn everywhere. The ceramic pot she'd smashed over Marcus head lay in pieces at her feet. She picked her way to the front door through the bits of stoneware and away from his unmoving form and peeked out the window to see what was happening outside.

Lee had overtaken Michael. Relief flooding her, Amanda pulled open the door and rushed outside.

* * *

In the distance was the unmistakable sound of sirens.

"Lee!"

In his peripheral vision, he watched Amanda rush from out of the house. His gaze never wavered from the hulking figure on the ground below him when he called out to her, "Come get my gun, Amanda!"

She ran down the few steps and over to where Lee was now frisking Michael. Instead of taking the pistol from his hands, however, Amanda reached inside Lee's jacket and pulled out a second weapon. Without a second glance, she rushed back into the house.

Keeping his own gun steadily aimed at the stunned Michael, Lee grinned when he told him, "Next time, Pal, you might want re-read the definition of a pat-down."

* * *

Lee quickly turned Michael over to the local authorities once they pulled up less than five minutes later. The large man had turned into a blubbering mess and was already talking. Leaving him to two rather large officers, Lee holstered his gun and moved out of the way.

It wasn't long before Sheriff Rawlins pulled and got out of his cruiser to approach Lee, his hat in his hands.

"We intercepted a man at the front entrance. Had cash."

Lee scratched his forehead before running his hand through his hair "Yeah, uh..I'd hoped we could wait for the guy to get here, but—"

"Save it," Rawlins interrupted. "It's a moot point. The guy's name is Banin Eugeni Igorevich. Name mean anything to you?"

Lee froze. "Igorevich? You're sure?"

The sheriff shrugged. "Nothing's ever sure in this life. But that's quite a name to be made up."

"Knowing to even _say_ that name puts that guy in a different league. This thing just got a whole lot bigger."

* * *

Banin Euginie Igorevich.

Though Lee wasn't familiar with Banin Euginie, the Igorevich name was tied to a broken-off group of the KGB which the Agency had been tracking for as long as Lee had been with them, and whose leader was named Uglov Salnikov Anotovich.

Just hearing the Igorevich name conjured memories of running down dim alleyways in Leningrad five years earlier, searching for an Agency defector. Lee remembered all too well how he'd barely escaped on a freighter headed to Helsinki to get away from that mess. It had only been by dumb luck and by the skin of his teeth that Lee hadn't personally met either Igorevich or Antovich during that specific trip

And now an Igorevich was somehow involved in a sex trafficking ring being run out of small-town America.

Regardless of how involved the Russians were, the fact remained that the immediate threat was over. The case for he and Amanda was solved. Case closed. The police had the key players of this branch of traffickers detained and if the higher powers so chose the next phase would eventually be initiated by the Agency.

Lee knew, though, that it really was inevitable—the Agency would become more involved. Soon, but not yet.

For now, his and Amanda's job was done.

He followed Rawlins into the house where officers had already entered and begun their search. Marcus was sprawled out on the floor, dirt and shards of pottery all about his body—out cold. Lee had a proud sense of realization that it was Amanda who had done it.

He spun in place until he finally found her standing off to the side and out of the way, allowing officers to work around her. She still held his small nine-millimeter pistol idly at her side. He moved to her and lightly pulled the gun from out of her hand, bending down to re-holster it at his ankle.

Straightening, he hugged her and asked, "Are you okay?"

She clung to him. "Yes."

He pulled back to look at her. "How'd you knock Marcus out?"

Amanda dipped her head with a slight smile. "I dropped a potted plant on his head."

"Ah," Lee chuckled. "You're specialty." He pulled her back into him, rubbing lips against her forehead tenderly. He chose to ignore when she stiffened slightly from his unintentional affection before melting back into him. He also chose not to dwell too deeply on it either. Instead, he held her tightly against him until an officer approached them.

"Mr. Stetson?"

Reluctantly, they parted.

With one last meaningful look to Amanda, Lee turned his attention to the nervous looking deputy. "Yes?"

"Sheriff Rawlins asked me to come get you. He needs you in the back." The officer motioned toward the hallway. "He's, uh..he's found…"

"Nicole!" Lee and Amanda exclaimed in unison.

Lee took Amanda's hand to pull her along with him, not wanting to leave her even for a second, even knowing the house was now secure and nothing more could happen. She willingly followed, her fingers interlacing in his as they moved together, weaving their way around the many officers and down the hallway. At the end of that hallway stood an officer who signaled for them to go into the furthest room just behind him.

As they entered, they found Rawlins bent down and working a chain that was connected to a heavy cast iron bed post. On the other end of that chain was Nicole.

Next to him, Amanda sucked in a breath. He squeezed her hand soothingly before releasing it and stepping further into the room.

"What do we have, Rawlins?" he asked, crouching down onto his haunches next to the sheriff to get a better look. "How is she holding up?"

Someone had covered Nicole with a blanket, who was obviously naked underneath it. Her hair was matted and there were streaks of tears tracked down her face. It was no surprise to Lee when she kept her eyes averted. Shock.

"Well, we got here in time, that's for sure," Rawlins said, breathing hard from his struggle with the heavy chain. "She's dehydrated, but she'll be okay."

To Nicole, the sheriff said kindly, "Now, Sweetie, we're just waiting for some bolt cutters and we'll get you out of here in no time."

Lee's heart constricted, and he looked back up at Amanda. "Can you spare your sweater?"

Immediately, Amanda unbuttoned and shrugged out of her cardigan and handed it to him. He in turn held it by its shoulders and gingerly offered it to the young woman. She skittered away from him, pulling hard at the chain that was attached to her foot.

Before Lee had time to feel discouraged, Amanda's hands came over top of his and she pulled the sweater out of his grasp. Quietly, she began to whisper coaxing words to Nicole and touched her shoulder lightly.

Within minutes, Amanda's charm won Nicole over and she was allowed to help pull the sweater around the girl's bare shoulders. Amanda made quick work of buttoning every button before sitting down beside her and taking hold of the girl's hand, making sure to keep the blanket strategically placed across Nicole's lower half.

A young officer ran in with the promised bolt cutters. The sheriff easily cut the shackle off of Nicole's foot and she was finally free. EMT's who had been hovering moved in and took over.

Amanda stood up to let them work, moving to stand next to Lee, who had been watching from a short distance away. "Do you think she'll be all right?" Amanda asked, her voice full of emotion, rubbing her wrists absently where the ropes had no doubt bit into her skin.

"Well, Rawlins said—"

"I heard what the sheriff said. Do _you _think she'll be okay?"

Lee considered her question. "I think she's lucky it's only been a few days. I have no idea how much longer they would have kept her that way." He looked at her as she watched the medics work. "I think she's lucky you were here. You were really great with her."

"Well, that's what I do best." She was jostled closer to him as emergency personnel passed by.

Lee placed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into him possessively. "You're right, and nobody could do it better."

* * *

A/N: One more chapter to go with this :) Thanks for sticking with me. I appreciate it, and of course, reviews are welcomed and encouraged.


	19. Chapter 19

There was a treasure-trove of information inside of the farm house—lists of prospective clients, cost breakdowns, multiple pictures and videos of women. The situation would take a lot time for authorities to iron out; the evidence collected implicated many high-ranking individuals and would not be pleasant to work through. It was inevitable once the media got a hold of it, it would become sensational news across the country and Lee would be happy to leave out the details of the Agency's involvement. The glory of Nicole's safe recovery would be given to the local police department and the FBI. He had no problem with that at all.

There were request lists detailing specific shapes and sizes of women. It was evident that Marcus, along with his cronies, were working together to compile a selection of women to fulfill the 'orders'. It looked as if the operation had begun more than a year ago, and had multifaceted branches beyond what had uncovered at the farmhouse. Nicole was just the latest victim of a long list who had been taken against her will. Amanda would have been the next.

Lee found that order, right at the top of a desk in a different back bedroom. It contained a set of 'requirements' with a picture of Amanda attached to the top of it with a paperclip; as if she were something being selected out of the Sears catalog. Ordered for one Uglov Salnikov Anotovich. Igorevich must have been tasked with the pickup. With gloved hands, Lee shuffled through the rest of the papers; noting that no other pictures of any other women were attached to any of the other orders.

He couldn't find any paperwork on Nicole, though, and wondered who had purchased her or what the endgame for her was supposed to be. If she were to be sold, surely her 'invoice' should have been there somewhere, but as far as he could find there wasn't anything on her. Maybe she had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Medics had wheeled her out on a stretcher as soon as she'd been cut free. It was evident that her captors had fed her over the past few days but that was about as much as Lee could say they'd done for her. She had yet to say a word about her experience but he'd seen enough to know that it had been rough. Lee hoped she wasn't so traumatized that she wouldn't be able to give details—he was grateful that it wouldn't be he who would be tasked to do that questioning. Dealing with that kind of trauma was not his specialty and he would gladly leave it to a professional.

The wrap up was his least favorite part of his job; especially because multi-agencies were involved, it meant the reporting aspect of a case would get dragged out. The sheriff had already requested that both he and Amanda stay in town for a couple of days to wrap their part all up.

If they stayed, filled out the proper reports and did what was asked of them they would not be required to come back for any of the court dates; their identities would be safe and their covers would not be blown. Since the town believed that a federal agent was involved the police department were using the FBI as Lee's cover—and his name would not be leaked. Or his picture.

But the Agency's involvement was far from over. With the discovery that Igorevich and Anotovich were involved—and once Billy was made aware—well, Lee knew it would add to their caseload, and soon. A trip overseas may be in his near future.

But for now, he and Amanda would stay in Colorado to wrap up their part of the original investigation. Which was just as well, because when he looked over to where Amanda stood, he could see the exhaustion etched on her face and knew she needed the rest—it was as good excuse as any to keep her from going back to her boys too soon. The bruises would have time to heal before the prying eyes and curious questions from her mother could manifest itself and Amanda found herself lying her way out of it.

* * *

***TAG***

An hour later, the two of them were still waiting for Sheriff Rawlins to finish up and give them a lift back into town.

"You know," Lee said as they stood together watching the officers work around them, "You did very well with your cover this time around, Amanda."

"Hmm…high praise," she said, smiling over at him slyly as if she knew he was thinking of lingerie and lots of skin. "You never knew I had it in me, did you? You know, I can do whatever's required of the job, Mr. Stetson."

He cleared his throat and straightened his jacket, heat rising to his face. "Well, yes, you can be quite the pretender when you need to be. You, uh, definitely do seem to rise to every challenge."

She elbowed him lightly. "As do you." More seriously, she admitted, "It always goes better when you're with me, you know. I was very happy you brought along that second gun."

"It's only a matter of time before someone takes the pistol from my shoulder holster. And you know, nine times out of ten the bad guys don't stop and frisk like they ought to. Good thing, too, or I would have had to come up with a different plan. That Michael is big."

She laughed. "Not everyday you meet someone that much bigger than you."

They stood in companionable silence until Amanda asked, "What's next, Lee? I overheard some of the officers talking….I heard them say a Russian name…Ivonovich?"

Lee smiled. Amanda missed nothing. "Uhh…Igorevich," he corrected. "And, yes…Russian."

"So, what does that mean for us? I mean, if the Russians are involved, then the Agency is more involved, right?"

He glanced at her. "Well, for now it means that you and I will finish up here. And then, we go home. And wait. But, you're right, the information that's gleaned from this case may be just what the Agency's needed to start back into an investigation on a group that the Igorevich name has been associated with, a group that the Agency has wanted for a very long time."

"Go home? But, Lee—"

He shook his head. "Now, Amanda, we've done all we can do until we learn more. And it's going to take some time to bring these people down. There's more to it than just a sex trafficking ring now. For the Agency, that is."

She blanched, obviously thinking of Nicole. "I still can't believe it."

He nodded. "I know. Once Billy is apprised, we'll focus on the next step. But it won't be today, or tomorrow. Hell, it won't even be next week."

"But those girls…"

Her expression conveyed how he was feeling as well and he sighed. "I know what you're thinking, Amanda, but it isn't our case anymore. It's officially a kidnapping now. The FBI is on it. Our hands are tied—our part in this can't even be deemed an Agency case as it is. Igorevich was just a buyer and not the ringleader—so the Russian aspect of it is just a by-product of the whole mess. Besides, this case should never have been ours in the first place. It…was a favor to Alicia."

"Ah, Alicia." Amanda closed her eyes and nodded tightly. "Of course."

He studied her for a moment. "Of course, what?"

But she was tight-lipped, merely shaking her head stubbornly. "Nothing."

He pursed his lips, wishing she would say more. "You don't like her, do you?"

"Who, Alicia?"

He merely raised his eyebrows.

She shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. "Alicia's great, Lee. She runs a tight ship, she's successful, she's beautiful….smart. What's not to like?"

"Uh-huh."

Amanda looked at him. "What?"

He mirrored her earlier actions, shrugging and folding his arms across his chest. "Nothing."

Before he could stop himself, he said, "So, I, uh…I saw you really hitting it off with that Peter guy back at the photo shoot."

Obviously surprised at his change of subject, she cocked her head to the side and shrugged. "What about him? He's a nice guy."

"Oh?" Lee said sharply. "How nice?"

Amanda squinted her eyes up at him and said with a slow smile, "He's good at his job and was kind enough to show me the ropes. Why?"

"Oh," Lee shrugged and turned away, feigning interest in a deputy fumbling with a fingerprint kit. "No reason. Just wondering if we'd be seeing more of him, you know, in Arlington. Wasn't sure if you'd be inviting him to come out and, uh, you know, see you."

"Are you asking if I'll be mixing business with pleasure, Scarecrow?" When he didn't reply, Amanda quipped, "Isn't that something we generally see from you? I mean, I could ask the same of you. Is, uh, well, will we be seeing Alicia in the future?"

Lee barely glanced at her before looking quickly away. "Alicia? Uh. No. That's long over."

The silence between the two of them was palpable as they both stared ahead, neither one looking at the other.

Finally, Amanda turned to him and said softly, "Well, rest assured, I won't be taking any business home with me."

Lee tightened his arms across his chest and rocked back and forth a bit, ignoring her scrutinizing stare. "Well, I'm glad to hear it."

"And why's that?"

He slid his eyes to look at her. "Oh, you know. I wouldn't want you to get…distracted."

Her eyes locked on his and they stared at each other for a long moment. "Uh-huh. Well…," Amanda said and Lee's heartbeat ratcheted up a notch when she licked her lips and smiled her Cheshire smile at him, her brown eyes sparkling as if she held a secret. "Believe me, I am not distracted."

"Well…good. Distractions can be very…costly."

She pressed her lips together as if in thought before saying almost breathlessly, "Yes, costly. We definitely wouldn't want that. That wouldn't be…professional."

"Definitely not professional, no," Lee agreed.

Amanda suddenly shot him a smile that he knew was just for him. It said more than words could convey and more than he needed to hear at that moment. Feeling lighter than he had in days, Lee returned her smile, glad for the first time that they were there together.

"You know, the reports and interviews shouldn't go all that late tomorrow," he said quickly before he could change his mind. "We're not that far from Rocky Mountain National Park. What would you say to heading that way tomorrow afternoon, maybe take a break from all this—" he searched for the word but finished with, "business. Have you ever been there?"

She shook her head. "No, I haven't ever been. You think we would have time?"

"Well, if you'd like to go, we can make the time."

"With you?"

He lifted his hands and grinned. "Who else?"

She met his smile and nodded shyly. "I'd love to."

They stood there together, each thinking of the other and how much they were looking forward to going on a road trip together, even for just a few hours. It would be time to not think about work, the Russians, Nicole. It was time they could spend talking about everything and anything.

"Then it's a da—," he caught himself, "a plan."

Her smile widened. "It's a plan. I can't wait."

Lee took her hand and squeezed it. "Me, neither."

****FADE TO BLACK***

***END TAG***

**THE END**

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading. Reviews of what you think are welcomed and enjoyed on my side.I hope that those of you hoping for a _very romantic ending_ aren't too disappointed. This fits CANON.

A/N: About 3 weeks ago, strent23 asked me if there would be a Part 2 to this story. My answer was a pretty wavering "no." But it got me going through this story and realizing that, YES, there could be a Part 2-and **AU**. I feel that this story -ending where it is ending-goes along with canon and could stand somewhere in the series in late Season 2/early Season 3.

That said-I am starting a second part of this story that will deal with the Russian spin I added in these last 2 chapters. This will go compeletely **AU** and may have our favorite couple see ups and downs. It will be completely organic as I go along-wish me luck! Let me know if this is something you would be interested in reading and I will work hard...to get it posted. Right now its going in a pretty angsty/emo direction...not as heavy on the case at least so far...

THANK YOU AGAIN!

BTW-the next story is pretty angsty-emotional highs and lows. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad...but it is what it is.


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